Jacked Up Classics: Aladdin
by Xandra
Summary: *COMPLETE* (Yaoi) Aladdin parody and the first of my series. The orphan Duo battles the evil sorcerer Xhen-Phi with the help of two genies and a lucky elf for the life and love of the gorgeous prince Jasper. Please read!
1. Part One

Xandra: This is the first of many of my new stories which I call the Jacked- up Classics, which will include this one, Tarzan, possibly Snow White or the Hunchback of Notredame, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. Sleeping Beauty is played-out. Hey, I'm bored and I have no life, so forgive me for my bad humor. I own nothing except my computer, the box it sits on and my own demented mind, along with my chibi muses Rie (Sha-Rie, Tah-Rie and Cai- Rie), though I'd LOVE to have Quatre in a cage under my bed. Hee, hee. What can I say, I'm a perv (and if I wasn't, I wouldn't write such great lemon/yaoi stories!). Humor, romance, RDP bashing and bad jokes ahead, so be warned. Oh, and one more thing...nah, forgot. When I remember, I'll tell you. Enjoy!  
  
Oh, and FYI: I based this sorta on the Disney version, but most of it is from the original story, which kicked ass, I might add. I added a few things here and there--well, more like a LOT of things...I did a bunch to it--and changed the character names, as you'll see below. Oh, and an extra little tidbit: a genie is actually called a jinn (pronounced ZHIN [zh = a sound like J and Z at the same time, or like J in the French word je]), and a female jinn is a jinnaia (no clue how to spell it, but I tried). Also, for future reference, a chibi in this story is about a half-foot tall, normal-looking version of a guy, while a child-chibi is an adorable little bug-eyed version of one of our pilots, like a little kid with big eyes. I had a lack of characters, so I will be using chibi versions as extras.  
  
The characters of the original story, my characters for this one and who plays them:  
  
Aladdin the orphan is replaced by Duo as himself  
  
Abu the monkey is replaced by Chibi Trowa as Gabriel the serendipitous elf (he looks like an eight-inch Trowa in rags)  
  
Princess Jasmine is replaced by Heero as the sassy Prince Jasper  
  
Prince Aucmed (Jasmine's suitor with the heart boxers [Disney...HA!]) is replaced by Relena as the snotty Princess Aucmeda (sorry, I'm out of ideas)  
  
Jafar is replaced by Wufei as the dark sorcerer Xhen-Phi  
  
Iago the parrot is replaced by Chibi Duo as Din the changeling imp (Seen those little chibi Duo shinigamis that have no noses and bat wings? That's him!)  
  
The Sultan is replaced by Doctor J as the Sultan  
  
The Genie of the Lamp is replaced by Trowa and Quatre as Gin and Gene the jinn/genies  
  
The three ladies in the market are replaced by Lucretzia Noin, Lady Une and Sally Poe  
  
The guards are replaced by Treize as Cassíme and Zechs as Razul  
  
The orphan children Aladdin saves are replaced by Mariemeia as Vita (VEE- tuh) and Child-chibi Quatre as Roque (Rowk [little big-eyed QRW {God, that's cute!!!}])  
  
[Oh, I made an extra character out of necessity, named Jean Claude {like Jean Claude Van Dam, pronounced Zhahn, not John. You'll get why I did it later.}]  
  
There, now on to my story! Thanx!  
  
****  
  
Jacked-up Classics: Aladdin  
  
By Xandra  
  
****  
  
"No one I have found can breech that cave," Xhen-Phi muttered to himself, "But I MUST have that lamp."  
  
The annoying changeling perched itself on his shoulder, looking into the foggy sphere of swirling copper liquid. "Maybe you should just give up!" he peeped.  
  
Xhen-Phi smacked the aggravating creature away and watched it sprout little black batwings, trying to keep from hitting the floor far below. "Ignorant little thing, I refuse to forfeit my chance at ultimate power! How dare you be so stupid in my presence?!"  
  
Din shrugged. "Sorry. You got a plan yet?"  
  
"IF I *HAD* A PLAN DO YOU THINK I'D BE SO ANGRY?!"  
  
"When AREN'T you angry?" Din muttered. Then, aloud: "Sorry."  
  
Xhen-Phi sighed, then looked into the crystal ball mounted on the top of his staff. "Show me the Cave of Wonders."  
  
The foggy, copper liquid started to spin, creating a funnel within the sphere, then the funnel seemed to collapse with a flash. When the light cleared, an image of a pentacle carved into a slab of sandstone hidden within a sand dune appeared. It was ancient, and carved in the center of the black pentacle was a handprint that burnt the palm of any person other than the one chosen to use it. The problem was, he had no idea who to con into using it at the risk of losing their palm. He'd tried every person he could find that was corruptible, but it seemed that the person had to be pure of heart and soul in order to open the cave. That was annoying, especially because the pure of heart were incorruptible. Any innocent that was corrupted was no longer innocent by definition, and that made this scheme of his impossible. "There it is," he muttered to himself. He slowly looked down at his gloved hand, scowling. "So close, and yet I cannot get that door to open, not even with my most powerful spells..."  
  
Din flew up and landed on the crystal, looking down. "Does this magic dingus show you anything you want?"  
  
He rolled his eyes. Honestly, why hadn't he got a parrot? Perhaps because Din was at least housebroken and somewhat useful, if not annoying and stupid. Ah, well. Changelings weren't supposed to be intelligent, because if they were, they would be dangerous. "Yes, ignorant one. It shows whatever I wish to see within reason."  
  
"Then why not ask it who can open that door?"  
  
"I've attempted that. It couldn't show me, because there is a myriad of people who could open it. Too many to show at once."  
  
Din shrugged his little shoulders, then looked at the door and jumped. "Why not ask it to show you the closest pure person that can open the door?"  
  
Xhen-Phi paused. "Maybe...no, most of those who are pure of heart are too wise to fall for it."  
  
"Then ask for the purest SAP that can open the door!"  
  
He blinked, then patted the little urchin on his cute little head. "I knew you were worth something," he said, nicely. Then, he scowled. "Now get off my staff."  
  
He sprouted batwings again and quickly got out of the way.  
  
"Show me the most gullible innocent capable of opening the door."  
  
~  
  
"Trippin' over bread," Duo muttered. "Christ, these people have no lives!" He leapt onto the next rooftop and quickly dashed to the other end, then tight-roped across a clothing line to the next.  
  
"Come back here, thief!" the taller of the two guards snapped as he and his partner reached the building he had just left. This was Razul, the captain of the guards and president of the 'I-hate-Duo' club. "You are under arrest for theft and you're coming with us, dead or alive!"  
  
Duo managed to duck as a knife flew at his head, nearly trimming his braid. He blinked. "Hey! Why aren't you guys worrying about a bank robbery or something?! Is a loaf of bread THAT important?!"  
  
Apparently so! The guards weren't listening to what he was saying, and evidently, they didn't care. That left him no choice but to do what he did best--run, and run FAST! Duo stopped on the edge of the rooftop, looking down to the ground three stories below, then shuddered. //Long way to fall...but it's a long time to spend in jail, too, for nothing...screw it.// He looked back at the blonde and platinum haired guards, both of which were wielding large swords and scowls. He held up the bread. "Yoo~hoo, boys! You lookin' to arrest me?"  
  
"Stand still and maybe we won't throw you off the building!" the platinum- haired, bronze-skinned Razul hissed.  
  
Duo shrugged, smirking. "I'll save you the trouble!" With that, he back- flipped off the building and plummeted downward, managing to catch onto a laundry cord. He paused as his eyes hit a big, red, lacy bra and he couldn't help but wonder where the woman was that wore that.  
  
The guards looked over the edge. "You'll not get away so easy!" the dirty blonde exclaimed. This was Cassíme, Razul's lackey. He was a doofus, but his sword did the work for him.  
  
"Easy?" Duo exclaimed, indignantly. "Does this LOOK easy to you? YOU get down here and try this, fat-ass!"  
  
The guards growled and disappeared back onto the roof.  
  
He sighed, then grabbed a sheet and dropped down, using it as a parachute to land. //I wonder where that damned elf is! He should be here!// On his way down, he grabbed a robe and scarf, throwing them on, then wrapped the parachute around the bread and shoved it inside the gown to help him resemble a woman. He quickly ducked into a group of women he knew well.  
  
"Why," Miss Noin commented, "Good morning, Duo! I LOVE the new look!"  
  
"Thank you," he said, grinning proudly. That was the good thing about being shameless--you had no shame!  
  
"Isn't it a bit early for you to be getting into trouble?" Miss Une asked, archly.  
  
"Nah, it's never too early to do a little shopping," he said, showing them the bread, then hiding it again. "My stomach never waits for fortune."  
  
Miss Poe smirked. "And I see you're alone."  
  
"Gabe dropped out on me, little snot. When I get my hands on him--"  
  
"Where is that brat?!" Razul spat. "I'll cut his hair for him, little street rat!"  
  
"Oops," Duo whispered. "Could you do me a favor, ladies? Could you possibly keep Razul and Cassíme busy while I make an exit?"  
  
"No problem," Miss Noin said. "I got the one with the long hair, you get the other one, Miss Une."  
  
She nodded. "With pleasure."  
  
Duo saluted, then quickly skidded away, thankful for the help of the city's three most evil widows. They were like his mothers, really, and just as devious as he.  
  
Suddenly, another guard came out of no where and put a sword to his nose, surprising him. "And just where are you going, STREET RAT?"  
  
Well, so much for disguises! He scowled. "What's a loaf of bread to you? It's not like I wasn't gonna pay it back."  
  
"You'll pay for it now, with your HEAD!"  
  
He backed slowly up to the wall, then looked up as he spotted a glimmer of green appear above the guard's hat. "You'd better look up, man."  
  
"HA! I'm not that foolish!"  
  
He shrugged. "Suit yourself. Let 'er rip, Gabe!"  
  
The eight-inch imp waved his hands and a brick suddenly fell from the building above and came crashing down over the guard's head, knocking him out. He smirked, then shrugged.  
  
Duo sighed, then grabbed the little elf from the air. "Gabe, you left me high and dry, you little ass! How dare you just ditch me?!"  
  
Gabriel shrugged, then disappeared from his hands, reappearing on his shoulder. He was a strange little elf with strange hair, but he was useful in his fashion.  
  
Duo scowled. "Damn, I forgot you're a mute." He shrugged, then quickly ducked into an alleyway and pulled the bread from his robe. He took a chunk off and handed it to the little elf on his shoulder, then took a chunk himself and crammed it into his mouth. "Too bad you can only make things happen by coincidence, or we'd have more food," he said through the mouthful.  
  
He shrugged again and jumped up onto Duo's head, getting comfortable on the thick hair of his scalp and munching gingerly on his bread. He waved and a brick fell from above, tearing a few strips from the wall across from them. It left a message: BE THANKFUL.  
  
"I am, smartass. I am." He went to take another bite of his bread, then paused as he heard a shriek from nearby followed by a long string of cuss- words. He blinked. "Gabe, check that out for me, will ya?"  
  
The green-eyed elf scowled, then disappeared, only to reappear with a surprised look on his face. He quickly started scratching in the sand with his feet: KIDS IN DANGER  
  
"What, goats? What do I care?"  
  
Gabriel smacked a hand to his forehead, then put his hands on his elbows as if to cradle something.  
  
"Oh, KIDS!" Duo sighed, then put the bread back in the sheet and crammed it back in his robe. "Well, duty calls. Let's go, Gabe." He pulled the scarf back up over his head to help conceal his identity, just in case the guards were still around, then ducked out the other side of the alley and paused at the sight.  
  
It was a little girl with red hair and a smaller boy with blonde, both of whom were shaking in the shadow of a very large man with a sword.  
  
"Please," the little girl said, pushing the boy behind her, "We're hungry. I...I can try to pay you back for it later..."  
  
"The price of stealing is to lose a hand, little waif," he hissed. He grabbed the girl's thin wrist and put it on the counter of his stand in the market place, then aimed his sword at her hand.  
  
She gasped and her little brother burst into tears.  
  
//Uh-oh!// Duo quickly pulled his braid out of the robe and threw it out over his shoulder to make himself look more feminine, then rushed out and snatched the little girl from the fat man's grasp as the sword came down, just missing her fingertips. "Vita, Roque," he exclaimed in a high tone. "Where have you two been?!"  
  
The boy and girl exchanged glances, looking confused. He winked to them and the girl got the picture. "Mommy!" the girl cried, clinging to him. The boy followed suit.  
  
"You know these thieving children?" the man demanded.  
  
"They're MY children!" he exclaimed, shrilly. He looked like a woman thanks to the robe, stuffed shirt and hair, so it worked. Anything to make sure they got out of this intact! "They disappeared last week and I have been SO worried!"  
  
"They've stolen from me."  
  
He scoffed. "Oh really? Hand it back, now."  
  
The little girl looked upset, but she handed the apple to Duo, who put it on the pile where it had been. These children were skinny while the man was huge, and they were in rags while he wore good clothes. It wasn't like he couldn't SPARE a single apple! The man could spare ALL of his apples plus more with how FAT he was!  
  
"There, no harm done, now you two come with me right this instant. You're in for a good lashing!" He took them both by their hands and carted them back to the alley, out of the sight of the fat man, then removed the scarf from his head and looked at them. "You two all right?"  
  
The girl gasped. "You're a man!"  
  
"And YOU'RE lucky!" he retorted. "You almost lost a hand! Why were you stealing in plain sight? That's the dumbest way to steal, and if I hadn't heard you, you'd be a lefty instead of a righty."  
  
"My brother and I are hungry," she said, flatly, "and we haven't got any money. I just wanted him to have some food. I can get by, but he's still little."  
  
Duo sighed, smiling good-naturedly at her, then reached into his robe and produced the wrapped loaf of bread. "Here, and next time, be more careful."  
  
She unwrapped it and gasped, then practically glomped him. "ThankYouThankYouThankYou!"  
  
He smiled, then pried her off, setting her on her feet and patting her on the head. "You're welcome. It's fresh, and you two can share it."  
  
The shy little boy hugged him too, then the two children turned and took off.  
  
"Thank you, sir!" the little girl cried. "We won't forget this!"  
  
Gabriel appeared on his shoulder and smiled at him.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, don't get cocky over it," Duo sighed. "I can't help it. I mean, I can steal more food, but they're little. They still have to learn. After all, I remember being a kid and not having anything. It was hard." He stood up, then paused as he realized that he had something in his pocket. Curious, he reached a hand into his robe and smirked, then pulled out an apple. "Sneaky little elf," he muttered.  
  
Gabriel smirked and shrugged. He was a good friend, mute or not.  
  
"Had it not been for you showing up, I might not have survived this long. Thanks, Gabe." Duo sighed with a smile and stripped out of the robe, then adjusted his braid and inspected his vest. "I'd better wash my clothes." He paused and smelled himself, then scowled. "Bleck, I'd better wash ME too."  
  
Gabriel nodded fervently, clamping a hand down over his nose and coughing.  
  
"Little asshole, I hate you."  
  
He shrugged again, then yanked a hair from his braid and waved it.  
  
"Yeah, I get it. Wash my hair too. Okay, thanks, MOM." He jumped as the elf bit into his ear. "OW! Damn it, you sonofabitch!"  
  
He heard soft snickering and scowled. "Yeah, you keep laughing. You won't be so jovial when I dunk you in the river, you little shit."  
  
The snickering stopped and Gabriel tried to disappear, but Duo caught him first.  
  
"Oh no you DON'T! You're gonna pay, ELF."  
  
****  
  
Duo glanced around carefully to make sure no one was in the area, then stripped down and quickly rinsed his clothes out in the clear water of the river by the palace. This place was for the bathing of royalty, forbidden to commoners, but he was dirty and he needed his clothes and himself clean. Besides, it wasn't like anyone was there NOW.  
  
He hung his clothes up on a high palm tree to dry, then carefully waded into the water and sighed, taking his hair down and wrapping the band around his wrist for safe measure. It'd been a while since he'd bathed, because the only river in this part of the desert had been reserved for the prince, whoever the hell he was. Duo didn't care, personally, as long as he got to bathe. Unlike most common poor people, he hated smelling too bad.  
  
There was a tiny splash and Duo looked down to see Gabriel floating on the surface of the river, sighing softly. He smirked. Hey, even elves liked to wash every once in a while, and he was barely noticed by most, considering that if he sat perfectly still he could be mistaken for an eight-inch twig with a dead leaf on it. The elf saluted to him, then dived under the water and disappeared.  
  
Duo shrugged, then dunked himself and sat on the floor of the river, enjoying the view of the underwater flora and fauna just living there. It was a rare sight here in the desert to see things living happily, but the fish and other creatures seemed perfectly content here. God knew he would love to stay here forever.  
  
His eyes caught on some reeds nearby and it took him a moment to remember that the river was surrounded and bisected by these strange floral pipes all over the place, thanks to the richness of the water. That would have been fine, if it weren't for the fact that they made it hard to see the other side of the river. Oh well.  
  
Duo then remembered the burning sensation in his chest and realized that he wasn't breathing. Because he was under water. He had been for several minutes. Oops. He quickly surfaced and was met with the soft snickering of his companion. "I bet I just ACCIDENTALLY forgot I was down there, huh?"  
  
Gabriel shrugged and he shook his head. Little asshole. That was the bad thing about his little serendipitous elf--his abilities allowed him to make things happen by seeming coincidence, which meant that he could do things like that if he wanted to.  
  
Duo reached over toward the little creature, then paused as he heard another splash, and it made his elf's laughter stop cold. That meant that someone else was in the river now, and they were not supposed to be there.  
  
"Uh-oh," Duo whispered. "This might be bad."  
  
Gabriel disappeared and reappeared atop one of the tall reeds a few feet away, peeking into an enclosure of them. He jumped and gestured to the braided teen, who blinked.  
  
He quietly dunked himself and swam over to the reeds, then carefully separated them and peeked in, keeping only his eyes and nose out of the water so as to keep hidden. His eyes widened.  
  
It was a young man with a golden tan bathing there, his waist submerged in the water while he slowly and painstakingly washed himself. His hair was dark and wild, and the rippling muscles of his back shone with perspiration and condensation from the water as he slowly rubbed his large, strong hands down his front, then his back.  
  
"Wow..." Duo breathed, rubbing his eyes and looking at the man's back again. He was real all right, but man, he was a dream too!  
  
Gabriel yanked out one of his long hairs and poked him. Then, he made a circle by putting both hands together and stuck them on his head.  
  
Duo's heart jumped into his throat. //Prince Jasper?! Oh wow, he's a babe! God, what I wouldn't give for some of that!//  
  
The elf growled and yanked two more hairs, then kicked his chin.  
  
"I know, but look at him! He's perfect!"  
  
Gabriel smacked a hand to his forehead. Of COURSE he was perfect, he was a prince!  
  
Duo wasn't paying any attention to the elf anymore. He was too busy watching that beautiful, lithe body moving in the water so gracefully. He just wanted to...  
  
NO! NO! Bad thoughts! That was a prince, damn it! He wasn't aloud to touch a prince, especially not Prince Jasper!  
  
Suddenly, the godly form paused and started to turn in his direction.  
  
Gabriel kicked him, but Duo didn't need the prompting. He dunked himself and quickly retreated away from the reeds, hoping to stay under long enough for the prince to lose interest. Thankfully, he hadn't been seen.  
  
Or so he thought.  
  
He surfaced a few feet away and found his own amethyst eyes equal with a pair of sapphire ones. Now that the prince was facing him, he was able to see that he was a living work of art. He was handsome--no, beautiful--and his body wasn't bad either! His chest was chiseled like that of a perfect sculpture, and his perfect face was painted with such adorable confusion...he was amazing!  
  
Duo realized that he was standing in the royal river naked with the beautiful crown prince, staring at him silently with his mouth open. He blushed and smacked his jaw shut, keeping his hand over his mouth silently. "Um..." he muttered, lamely. He brushed his bangs back out of his face, looking down at the surface of the river, sighing bashfully. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to invade your privacy, but I really needed to bathe and I couldn't afford to use the public bath, and--"  
  
The prince raised a hand, silencing him, and a handsome smile crossed his lips. "I thought you were a woman."  
  
Duo scowled, reflexively. "Disappointed?" he asked, flatly.  
  
"No, relieved."  
  
He blinked. "Why?"  
  
The prince shrugged. "I've never been seen this way by anyone, especially not a woman."  
  
"Oh..." Duo looked away, feeling ashamed as he wrapped his arms around his torso. "I...I had better go before your guards show up and arrest me...I'm sorry." He turned to get out, but a pair of strong, large hands stroked against his hair, surprising him. He paused and held his breath.  
  
"I--" the prince paused, sighing. "Why is your hair so long?"  
  
"I don't want to cut it," he said. "My...my sister used to say it made me unique, before she died." He felt the back of the prince's hand stroke down his hair again and sighed. "What are you doing...?"  
  
"I've never met anyone like you..." he breathed. "I..." He didn't finish.  
  
Duo turned back to him again and observed the nervous look on his face. He had heard that it was tradition for the crown prince to never be touched or seen by anyone by his nursemaid until he was ten, and then he wasn't touched or seen naked at all. This was obviously very new to him. Shyly, he reached out a hand and touched the broad chest.  
  
The prince gasped. "You aren't supposed to do that..." But he wasn't fighting it either. It seemed that even that gentle contact was enough to make him supremely happy. "Who are you...?"  
  
"I'm Duo," he said. "I'm worthless, but I never lie, so there's a good thing on my side."  
  
"You apparently don't know who I am."  
  
"Sure I do. I think you're Prince Jasper."  
  
He nodded. "I hate that name."  
  
Duo smirked. "No offense, but I don't blame you. I mean, a jasper is red, but you're eyes are blue and the rest of you as far as I can see is gold, so it doesn't fit." He kept his hand exactly where it was, and watched as the prince took his own from the water and clutched it to his chest, sighing. He really DID like being touched, and who didn't?  
  
"What do you suggest I do about it?"  
  
"I'll call you Heero, then. My sister liked that name, and it fits you."  
  
The prince smiled at him, still holding his hand, and that smile was worth a thousand years in jail. He was beautiful, and the smile made him glow. "Thank you."  
  
"Prince Jasper!"  
  
They both gasped and Duo dunked himself, then sat down on the riverbed again as a familiar voice rang out. Now he had a great view of the muscles of his legs, among other places. //I like this.//  
  
"Close your eyes!" he heard Heero bark at the guard. "What do you want?!"  
  
"Your father calls you."  
  
Duo scowled. Now he'd have to go and he'd never see him again! //Damn it!//  
  
Heero made him go away and Duo surfaced again, only to be embraced by the godly prince. The feeling of his bare, wet skin pressed against another's was amazing. Apparently, Heero enjoyed it too. "Ohhh...I thank you, Duo..."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"I just do. I wish to see you again, but I assume I cannot."  
  
"I don't think your father would approve," he sighed. "I mean, you're a prince and I'm just a street rat. I don't think we can be around each other very often that way, considering I'm not only poor, but male too."  
  
Heero released him and sighed, taking his hand from his side and pressing it to the spot on his chest again. "Thank you," he repeated.  
  
Duo smiled, then took his hand back and quickly retreated, feeling awful but glad at the same time. Oh, how he wanted that guy! He was perfect, and sweet, and he liked to be touched, which was no problem with him! Too bad he was a damn prince, or he'd love him!  
  
He got out and wrung out his hair, then wiped the water from his skin with his hands and scaled the tree, getting his dry clothes and climbing back into them. With a sigh, he headed off.  
  
Gabriel appeared on his shoulder and he smiled, patting him on his soaked head as he set to braiding his hair again.  
  
"What, you think that was cute or something, you little perv?"  
  
The elf nodded, then smirked at him and made a heart with his hands. He made the crown sign again, then smacked his hand to his forehead.  
  
Duo sighed. "Yeah, stupid me...I love a prince."  
  
~  
  
Heero liked his new name. Hell, almost ANYTHING beat Jasper! That, and it was from Duo.  
  
He remembered the feel of being touched for the first time in years, and the electricity that had shot through him had been wonderful. It was a pity he had to marry a princess in order to rule his kingdom, or else he'd have dropped his crown in the dirt and left with the copper-haired, tactless young man.  
  
He dried himself with a towel and dressed in one of his many ruby red metallic uniforms, consisting of a pair of baggy Arabian pants and a vest with pointed sleeves, then pulled on his gold boots and his crown. With a sigh, he entered the palace, passing the large, white Siberian tiger that had been his friend for so long. "Hi, Zero."  
  
It purred and quickly followed him into the main throne room, where his father was getting ready to leave. "Did you summon me, Father?"  
  
"No, son," the old man said, shrugging. "I believe Wufei did."  
  
Heero rolled his eyes. The creepy Chinese advisor was the number one most annoying person in the palace, with his strange little imp and odd dark powers. His father didn't believe him when he told him that he was evil, but he knew it was true. He could just feel it. "Spectacular."  
  
"Prince Jasper."  
  
Zero turned and growled fiercely, stepping forward and blocking the path of the figure that had spoken.  
  
Heero turned to see the black-cloaked Asian advisor standing a few feet away, where he hadn't been a second ago. It was rather annoying how he did that. His little fairy creature was sitting on his shoulder, wearing angel wings and smirking at. Unlike his father, who had no idea what it was, Heero knew very well that Din was a changeling, not an angel, the way the Sultan thought. "What do you want, Wufei."  
  
"Simply to have a word with you, Your Highness," he said, reasonably. He had a way of making himself sound reasonable no matter what he said. He strode up to him, his long, golden staff in his right hand. That multi- faceted crystal sphere was glowing the way it did usually, and Heero got a bad feeling that something was wrong. "Princess Aucmeda is coming today, and I sense that you will turn her down once again. You know, if you do not marry before your eighteenth birthday, you will..." Wufei cleared his throat. "Lose your birthright to the kingdom to the most eligible Rajah or lord that lays claim to it."  
  
"I did not need you to tell me that, Wufei, because I know. I have a month yet, and I will choose in this time, thank you."  
  
Din stood up and transformed into a miniature pretty girl. "Maybe if you marry someone with a little KICK you won't be so bored, prince, and that Aucmeda may be snooty, but she's got curves like an hourglass!" It cackled evilly.  
  
Zero growled at the imp and it blew a raspberry at him.  
  
Wufei flicked the little creature and it changed back into itself again, being silent. It looked like a six-inch child usually, shrunken with cute purple eyes and brown hair that was neat and adorable. Though it seemed innocent, it was evil, just like its master. "Forgive him, Majesty. Now, as I was saying, this is not the reason I have come to speak with you. I have located a beautiful princess that I believe you would possibly get along with..." He held up his staff and the orb lit up, showing him a form of a stunning young woman with black hair and brown eyes, thin and tan with a beautiful smile and perfect body. "This is Princess Joséka, and my sources tell me that she is by far the best prospect for a queen you may have. Beautiful, kind, talented and rich."  
  
"Thank you, but I am not interested," he said, simply, passing him. Zero followed closely, keeping an eye on Wufei. He wasn't lying; she was pretty, but not only had the advisor not mentioned her having any real intelligence quotient, he was already interested in someone. Impossible or not, his heart was taken. "I have things to attend to, so please excuse me."  
  
~  
  
Xhen-Phi bowed his head, then turned to the Sultan, who was readying for his trip to Egypt. He had to make sure the old man was away long enough for his plan to come into effect. "Sultan, your son is being difficult once again, and I feel it necessary that we have a defense against the inevitable, just in case he decides not to marry on time."  
  
The old sultan turned to him and looked up. "Yes, that does seem very vital with how Jasper gets sometimes. What do you suggest, Wufei?"  
  
"Din."  
  
"Yessir!" The little imp quickly zoomed away, returning moments later with a scroll, which he unrolled. The winged changeling landed on his shoulder again as he inspected it. He had sprouted angel wings to look innocent.  
  
Xhen-Phi showed it to the sultan, who looked interested, though he was half blind anyway. "I have discovered that the Ethiopian prince is looking to take our fair city from Jasper if he does not meet the deadline, and his armies far exceed our own. I believe the time has come for us to appoint a working sultan to replace yourself in the event that your son fails to marry--someone that can protect the city and even rule it if the need comes."  
  
"Who do you suggest?"  
  
He smirked. "Well, I have done a vast search of the surrounding princes, lords, kings, rajahs and warriors, and I have found many good candidates, but I have only found one in the general area that would be more than happy to take the job, and very capable of executing it perfectly."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Myself, of course."  
  
The sultan blinked. "But you're the sultan's advisor, and in order to be sultan, though you have the education and the power, you would have to be married and have to find a place for my son. What would he do?"  
  
Xhen-Phi looked at Din, who snickered. "Already taken care of, my lord. I have found the woman that will carry out the role of queen perfectly, and I am prepared to help and train your son to be sultan while in the position myself. All I need is your signature..." he showed him the scroll. "Here."  
  
"Well..."  
  
He lifted the staff and it turned red, and the sultan nodded, pulling a pen.  
  
"Of course...Wufei...In the event that my son does not marry by his eighteenth birthday, you will become acting sultan on his behalf...and if he lives another year without marrying, you will retain the position...permanently."  
  
"I thank you for your trust, Sultan," he said with a smirk, glancing at Din.  
  
The imp immediately zoomed from the room, and moments later, the doors opened and Razul entered, looking worried. "Sultan! The caravan is here, Your Highness!"  
  
The Sultan snapped out of the daze and quickly raced off. "Take care of everything for me, Wufei!" And with that, the old man was gone.  
  
The moment he left, the captain of the guard shrunk and changed form and color, becoming Din again. "That was easy!" he cackled.  
  
Xhen-Phi nodded, then ascended the steps and took a seat on the throne. "Of course it was, Din. Now all I must do is persuade this boy called Duo into getting me the lamp and I will be sultan, and the prince will be reduced to nothing but a slave."  
  
"How you gonna convince him, Master?" the little brunette asked, his angel wings turning to batwings and his white clothes turning black. He landed on the arm of the throne.  
  
"Simple. I will lie to him. A foolish innocent thinks with their heart, so believing a lie will only leave them innocent. The trick is creating the perfect story to tell him. Luckily, I have just the thing..."  
  
**** ~  
  
Duo approached the growing crowd and managed to get through to the front in time to see a giant caravan pass by. A giant canopy-covered throne was being carried by four brazen men with ripped chests and rippling muscles, and the woman inside was dressed in a tight, purple belly-dancer's outfit with jewels glittering from every limb she had. Ahead there were beautiful white horses carting a large cart of jewels and gold, and personally, Duo found the servants carrying her more attractive than she.  
  
"Princess Aucmeda," one man said, softly.  
  
"I hear she's come to try and win Prince Jasper again. Allah save him if he accepts."  
  
Duo raised an eyebrow. "Looks like a priss to me." Gabriel, who was perched on his shoulder, nodded his agreement.  
  
Suddenly, a fuzzy snake on feet ran past squealing and Duo recognized it as a ferret, a foreign creature. It zipped through the crowd and rushed out in front of the men, and was followed closely by a little boy in rags with pale hair...  
  
Duo gasped. //It's that kid! Where's his sister?!//  
  
She appeared seconds later, running after him. "Stop! Come back!" she cried. They all rushed out in front of the large servants, who jumped and stopped all at once to avoid hurting them, in turn dumping the princess right into the sand.  
  
The crowd laughed, but Duo was too busy watching the kids to do the same. He watched as the angry princess climbed to her feet.  
  
The little red-haired girl grabbed her brother and held him tightly, trying to keep him still as the purple-clad bitch marched up to them, steam almost literally coming out of her ears. Both of the children looked terrified.  
  
"You little brats!" she exclaimed, snatching a whip from her mobile stage and hauling it back. "I'll teach YOU to embarrass ME, you filthy little urchins!"  
  
Duo gasped and shoved out of the crowd, putting himself between the quivering kids and the whip. He let it wrap around his arm with a smack that hurt and held it tightly, then yanked it from her hands. "Who are you to pick on a couple of helpless children?!"  
  
"How DARE you! Do you KNOW who I am?!"  
  
Duo scowled at her, then tossed the coiled whip back into her face. "I frankly don't care. Even if you were Allah Himself, you have NO right to hurt these children!"  
  
She growled and snapped and one of her servants grabbed him by his neck, lifting him off the ground as the other three put her back on her throne. "Worthless street rat!" she hissed. "I may do what I wish, because my wealth is my power, and no matter what, unlike me, you will forever be POWERLESS. You were born a street rat, and you will die a street rat, and only your FLEAS will mourn you!" She cackled evilly as the servant threw him into the mud, making him groan. The princess and her crew continued forward. "Stay down in the muck where you belong, riffraff."  
  
He growled. "I may be riffraff, but at least I can fight my own battles and at least I have a heart, you horrible BITCH!"  
  
She scowled and he gasped as her whip cracked against his bare chest, marking it painfully. "Worthless dog! Continue on, men! To the palace, and my future husband!"  
  
Duo watched as she and her crew of servants marched off and grunted as he sat up, his chest hurting awfully. "Bitch," he muttered. If she married Heero, he would kill himself. What a dirty slut.  
  
The children ran to him and the girl whom he had named Vita hugged him. "Oh, you saved us again!" she exclaimed. "You're so wonderful!"  
  
"Too bad everybody else thinks I'm slime," he muttered.  
  
Gabriel appeared again holding up a purple strip of something and smiling brightly...  
  
Her panties! He had her panties! HA! He'd forgotten about that aspect of his elf's abilities. Mostly, he controlled fate and made things happen when he could, but when someone was cruel and mean, he could usually do something to get back at them, which wasn't surprising, because it was a natural law that Fate always bit you in the ass. Duo smiled, weakly, then looked down at the little boy, Roque, who was squeezing the life out of the ferret he had caught. He smiled, then hugged him too, squishing the little creature to his injured chest with him. What a cute pair of children. "Thanks, kids."  
  
"No, thank YOU," Vita said.  
  
Gabriel jumped onto Roque's shoulder and healed the bleeding welt with a touch (that was an average elf talent), then smiled up at him. Apparently, he was proud of him too.  
  
Duo got up and dusted himself off, scooping the sprite into his hands. "You kids get outta here before she comes back to bitch at you some more."  
  
Vita nodded and grabbed her brother's hand, then smiled. "Thank you again, sir. We owe you so much." They quickly scampered off.  
  
Duo sighed, then held his stomach as it growled. "C'mon Gabe. Let's get home." //And I just bathed today, too...// he thought, looking at his ruined clothes. He sighed, then lowered his eyes and marched off toward the old abandoned apartment.  
  
****  
  
"Gabriel, we're going to starve," he muttered as his stomach roared again. "We're going to starve, and we're going to die."  
  
The elf sighed, shrugging. He couldn't steal directly for some reason, because his powers didn't let him, and that meant that unless Duo stole the food, they would indeed starve and die. The little elf climbed to his shoulder and held his stomach, whimpering.  
  
Duo sighed too. "I know, I know...but I can't manage to get anything if my stomach won't stop growling every ten--" he paused as it happened again. "...seconds."  
  
A knock came on the door and he jumped up instantly, surprised. Who would come to see him? Curious, he cracked his knuckles, then opened the door and looked out. No one. It figured, but there was a note. He grabbed it and read it to himself, slowly because he barely knew how:  
  
I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF YOUR HELP. MY FAMILY IS POOR AND MY FATHER IS DYING OF A MALADY ONLY CURABLE BY A SPECIAL OIL MADE BY MYSTICS. I HAVE LOCATED A SUPPLY GREAT ENOUGH TO SAVE MY AILING FATHER, BUT CANNOT REACH IT, FOR IT IS LOCKED BEHIND AN ENCHANTED DOOR THAT CAN ONLY BE OPENED BY A STRONG, GOOD MAN. BEING THAT I AM BUT A WEAK GIRL, I CANNOT REACH THE OIL, BUT I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT YOU ARE CHARITABLE AND I BESEECH YOUR ASSISTANCE. I PROMISE YOU, THE PAYMENT FOR YOUR TROUBLE IS FAR BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS. I AWAIT YOUR HELP, AND IF YOU WISH TO ASSIST ME, YOU CAN FIND ME TONIGHT AT THE CITY WELL. SIGNED, A NEEDY YOUNG WOMAN.  
  
Duo blinked. A needy woman...and her father is dying...  
  
He remembered when Helen had died and how he had wanted to help her, though there was no cure for her malady. He felt a need to help her, reward or not. That, and a reward would buy them both food, and maybe even suitable clothing. He nodded, then showed the note to Gabriel. "What do you think?"  
  
He nodded instantly. He was a good elf.  
  
"Then we'll do it."  
  
****  
  
Duo shuddered against the cold wind and clutched his moth-eaten old cloak closer to his skin, wishing he had kept that robe he had borrowed. Gabriel was clinging to his chest within the cloak, shaking. It was so cold tonight!  
  
They reached the well and were met with a lovely young woman in a black cloak holding a basket. She was very pretty, with long black hair and brown eyes, but she looked very sad and ravaged by her grief. She greeted them warmly and offered him her cloak.  
  
"No, no," he said, quickly. "I'm used to this. It's fine."  
  
"As I said in my letter, I need your help," she said, softly. "Come with me." She turned and headed off into the open desert, surprising him.  
  
"The cave's out there?"  
  
"Of course. Please, come with me so I can explain. I am Joséka, and as you know, my father is very ill and can only be cured by a special healing oil locked within a cave called the Cave of Wonders. It is called this because there is said to be the ransoms of ten sultans buried within it, but at the heart of the cave is a golden lamp filled with the blessed oil, and I need it so my father may live."  
  
Duo nodded. "You said it needs to be opened by a man? Why not a brother or friend?"  
  
"It has to be a brave, daring young man with a pure heart, and no man I know has all of those traits, but a pair of children calling themselves Vita and Roque told me of you, saying that you were both and more."  
  
He smiled. Those orphan kids had kept the names he'd given them. "Well, I'll do anything I can to help...but I'm not gonna be much help. I haven't eaten since early this morning, and that was maybe a bite of bread at most."  
  
She handed him the basket. "I had a feeling you were going to been hungry, so I managed to scrape this together."  
  
"Oh, no," he said, handing it back. "I can't take it from you. I mean, you have a family, and I just have me and my elf." He pulled Gabriel out for her to see.  
  
She blinked. "Oh, he's starved! Go ahead, we have enough food, but that oil is all I need right now. You can have the food, and as much of the treasure as you like, as long as you get me that oil for my father."  
  
"No prob," he said, reaching into the basket. He pulled out some bread and handed it to Gabriel, who inhaled it, then pulled out a chicken leg and grinned. //Job or no, food is food!// "But how do you know I can get in to this special cave?"  
  
"I have a feeling."  
  
In due course, they arrived at a large dune of sand and she paused, then walked up to it and started moving the sand aside, surprising him.  
  
"Wha'cha doin'?"  
  
"This is the entrance to the cave," she said. She uncovered a doorway within seconds, then moved aside. "Here is the door you must open."  
  
Duo inspected it. It was a sandstone door, so pale that it was almost invisible against the sand. It was engraved with ancient Arab hieroglyphics encircling a large black pentacle with a handprint in the center. It didn't look too promising. "What do I do?"  
  
"Put your hand there and it will open," Joséka said, pointing to the handprint. "You must first get me the lamp, and then you can take all you want of the treasure."  
  
He nodded, then put his right hand in the impression indicated and felt a warm sensation thrill along his spine as the pentacle lit up. The door disappeared.  
  
"Excellent!" she exclaimed, clapping. "Please, hurry and get the lamp! I fear my father may not last much longer!"  
  
Duo nodded, then slowly stepped into the stairwell leading downward into the darkness. The well was illuminated by a dim green glow, emanating from the very stone walls of it. As he descended downward, he realized that this was the case throughout. He reached the bottom step and froze, his mouth falling open.  
  
He was in a chamber, seven feet high by twenty wide and forty long, with a wide, glowing silver path leading right down the center. To either side of the path was a glittering creek of silvery water, and growing up from it were bushes of beautiful flowers and trees bearing great fruits of all types...made of jewels.  
  
His eyes popped and he quickly zipped to the edge of the large path, inspecting a large, plump orange that hung from a branch within his reach. It was made from a large orange garnet, and the leaves were jade. Nearby was an apple tree with ruby apples, and near that was a blueberry bush with diamond thorns, sapphire blueberries and emerald vines. It was amazing.  
  
"Just one of these would make us rich, Gabe..."  
  
The elf shook his head, then floated out, catching Duo's hand before he could touch a golden banana. He shook his head violently, lipping "NO!"  
  
"Okay, okay, I get the girl her lamp first, okay?"  
  
The elf nodded and floated back onto his shoulder and he continued forth. His eyes darted over bunches of opal grapes, rose-quartz roses, platinum peaches and watermelon patches made completely from emerald and big enough to weigh at least one hundred pounds each. He resisted the urge to snatch everything in sight and continued on to the other end of the chamber, where a pair of jeweled curtains blocked the path.  
  
He brushed them aside and entered another stone chamber, resembling the first in all respects except for the creeks and plants, which were not there. Instead, there were suits of bronze armor, weapons fit for any king and a sultan's ransom in golden coins lining the walls, stacked up to the roof so that it seemed the very walls were made of thin pillars of gold. The path in this chamber was gold, like everything else, but it was brighter than the rest, marking his path. It was slightly thinner than the last, but still very wide. He had a feeling that these paths were here for a reason, so he stayed on it, though he was sorely tempted.  
  
He reached a curtain made of solid golden coins strung in chains and walked through, entering yet another amazing chamber. This one was decked with beautiful types of cloth, silk and satin from all parts of the world, carpets, dresses, uniforms that would put the wardrobe of a royal to shame. Tapestries depicting gory battles, beautiful weddings, fabulous scenes that were so real one would think they could walk into it. The path in this room was copper and wound around the many beautiful hand-made cloths, and though Duo was no fashion critic, the stuff was just as tempting as the golden weapons and jeweled fruit to him. The path here was thinner still, maybe one third as thick as the room was wide.  
  
He came to colorful curtains that he found to be so soft that he actually didn't want to let go as he passed through them into the next temptation. This one was a chamber of silver vases and pictures, goblets decked with diamonds and crowds that would make any princess faint with desire of it. At the center of it all was a great fountain, and geysering from it was the a shining liquid that drew the attention of both he and his elf. Each drop shone like it were made up of billions of microscopic diamonds, and tumbled down into the main basin, which was slowly draining off into the floor and out tiny channels that snaked there way through it. Engraved on the side were the words Fountain of Immortality.  
  
"Wow..." he whispered, staring. Slowly, he looked down at the floor and noted that the white path was thinner than the others and circled the fountain on both sides, allowing the traveler to touch and even drink the elixir of eternal life. Though this had to have been the number-one most sought-after object, and it was right within his reach, something told him that this was not a good thing to come into contact with.  
  
Gabriel yanked his hair, then pointed to the silver-curtained doorway at the other end.  
  
"Maybe we should just get some of that immortality stuff for her father and leave..." he muttered to himself. No, that didn't sound right. He continued on past the silver wares and fountain, then parted the curtains and had to close his eyes in order to keep from going blind.  
  
This chamber was made completely of gold, with a diamond podium standing at the center issuing a beam of blinding white light up to the ceiling, encasing an object seated there. It was atop a circular altar, calling to him, and this was the final chamber.  
  
Duo looked at Gabriel, who nodded, then ventured forward, following the glowing white path that led up to the podium. He stepped up to it and reached into the light, finding it to be warm and relaxing. His hands passed over something smooth and cool and he grasped it, then drew it out and inspected it.  
  
It was just an old lamp! After all of those treasures and temptation that all led here, it was a rusted oil lamp!  
  
"That's it?!" he exclaimed.  
  
Gabriel nodded to him and pointed back toward the door. Apparently, his elf senses were warning him of something wrong, so he listened.  
  
Duo turned back and passed from the golden chamber, then passed through the silver, cloth, weapon and jewel fruit ones and got to the top of the stairs, where Joséka was awaiting him, wrapped in her cloak and grinning. "This is what I found. Is this want you wanted?"  
  
She nodded, putting out her hands. "Give it to me."  
  
He shrugged, holding it out. "Go ahead and take it; good luck with your father."  
  
"No, hand it to me, please."  
  
Something nagged at him from inside and he held it firm, pausing to wonder. A chamber of jeweled plants, a chamber of golden armor, a chamber of great fabrics and a chamber of silver with the fountain of immortality all lead up to a rusted old lamp with medicine in it? That didn't sound too right. This thing had to be important, and yet, she wouldn't take it from him. He had to PUT it in HER hands. Why? "No," he said, finally. "TAKE it from me."  
  
"Please," she said, softly. "You must hand it to me so that I may accept it and give it to my father."  
  
He sighed. Well, she needed it for her father, so... "Okay, fine." He set it in her hands.  
  
She clasped it in her palms for a moment, grinning widely, then looked at him. "My father thanks you. Oh fa~ther!"  
  
A man appeared from the darkness nearby, wrapped in a dark cloak with his head down, then took the lamp from Joséka and removed his hood. He was Asian and looked rather dark, and something in Duo's mind cursed him for handing the worthless lamp over. Something told him that he had made a grave error. "I thank you, Duo," he said. He produced a staff with a faceted, shining jewel mounted atop it and pointed it past Duo into the stairwell.  
  
A ruby apple appeared from the darkness and hovered before him, making him blink.  
  
"Here is your reward." The man waved the staff and the apple landed in Duo's open hands. "Thank you again." With that, he hauled the golden rod back and with a painful thunk, the brunette was falling down the stairs.  
  
He hit the floor in the center of the silver path and he gasped as the chamber began to shudder with an awful roar. //Oh SHIT, I fell for that!//  
  
As everything went dark, all he could do was curse himself.  
  
~  
  
Xhen-Phi held the lamp up and laughed aloud. "Foolish boy," he cackled. "He takes the fall and I have the lamp!"  
  
Joséka laughed too, then shrunk and turned back into Din. "What a sucker! He fell right into it! HA!"  
  
The dark sorcerer inspected the silver lamp as the cave entrance sealed over and crumbled, leaving nothing but sand in its wake, then at Din, who was laughing his head off. "It was all too easy, and now I have the power."  
  
Then, Din paused and looked at it. "Wait...I thought the lamp was bronze."  
  
Xhen-Phi did a double take, then gasped and checked it over. The mark of the jinn was not there, and there was no rust, which meant that... "No..." He threw the chunk of silver pottage to the ground, then looked at Din, who was staring. "That BRAT brought the wrong lamp!"  
  
"But it was bronze when he gave it to me, Master!" Din exclaimed. "I coulda sworn by it, no joke!"  
  
Xhen-Phi growled. "Grrr...no matter." He threw his cloak out behind him, angry beyond words or shouting. "The sultan will return and I will kill him, and the kingdom will be mine. I have enough power now..." He paused, then pointed his staff at the silver lamp. It melted. "DAMN IT! I WANT THAT LAMP!"  
  
"But the cave's been destroyed, Master...it's too late, isn't it?"  
  
He growled. "Yes." He turned and spun his staff, and a swirling black portal appeared in the air. "Come, Din. At least that's one less street rat to worry about." He stepped into it and Din quickly followed, and they were gone.  
  
**** ~  
  
Duo awoke crunched into a ball beneath a shelter of rubble that had coincidentally fallen at the right angle to protect him from the falling debris without crushing him.  
  
Coincidence? Gabriel, of course.  
  
That woke him up completely. Where WAS Gabriel? "Gabe?" he called, softly. The elf didn't appear. He gasped, then stood in his shelter and shoved upward with all his might, forcing the rubble off of him. He climbed free and rushed through the chamber, seeing the broken trees and fallen fruit everywhere, but no sign of his elven friend. "Gabriel!" he called.  
  
Still no response, and he was getting pretty worried. That little guy had saved his life by using his powers, but where WAS he?  
  
A soft cough caught his attention and he traced it to a pile of jeweled apples that had fallen nearby. Under it was Gabriel, scared but not visibly harmed. With him was the lamp. "Gabe," Duo whispered. "You saved me...you idiot, what in hell were you thinking?"  
  
"That I...save...my friend," he whispered. So he COULD talk! He probably didn't know much English though, because he spoke with an odd accent. Latin, it seemed.  
  
"Bastard elf," he muttered, picking up the lamp. "How did you get this piece of junk back?"  
  
"Magic..."  
  
"I thought you couldn't steal things with your magic!"  
  
He sighed, holding his little ribs. "Not hers...yours...you earn, so I take back."  
  
Duo blinked. "You mean you can take things if they don't belong to the person you take them from?"  
  
He shrugged and sighed, shuddering in the brunette's hands. He looked awfully tired, probably from stressing all of his powers at once.  
  
OH! That was sort of like how he had taken Aucmeda's panties after she had hurt him! It was wrong for Joséka to have it, so Gabriel had taken it! "Poor Gabe..." he whispered. He set him in his pocket, then quickly went to the cloth chamber. "Guess it don't matter now that the trap's sprung. You knew, huh, Gabe?"  
  
"Yes," the elf muttered from his pocket. "Felt it...could not say. Tried, but not know words."  
  
"How come you talk now, then?" He felt him shrug from within his pants pocket and sighed, then started picking through the remains of the beautiful cloth outfits. He actually found one in Gabriel's size, so he slipped it into the pocket with him. "Here, your rags are nasty, so you change." He could suddenly feel movement in his pocket and he nodded, then found a vest like his without the patches and some pants to match. As soon as Gabriel was done changing, he changed too, so his injuries, few as they were, wouldn't get infected by the dirt on his outfit.  
  
"Trapped," Gabriel said, finally, as he was placed in the new, clean pocket of Duo's pants. "Apple set off trap."  
  
The apple. Duo sighed, remembering how he had been warned by his elf advisor to not touch, and that sorcerer whoever he was had known that it would set off the trap, which is why he had put it in Duo's hand and knocked him back inside.  
  
That reminded him. He looked at the rusty lamp, then inspected it. There was a rust-covered symbol on the side of it, but he couldn't make it out. Whatever it was, it had to be important, because that sorcerer had tried to kill them for it. It had been pretty well guarded by that system! He took a spare piece of cloth a rubbed at the symbol, trying to make it out.  
  
Suddenly, it started to shake, and colorful sparks started shooting from the spout, surprising him.  
  
"Set down!" Gabriel exclaimed, pointing to the lamp. "Set down NOW!"  
  
Duo dropped it and backed up as a mass of colorful smoke shot out, filling the room and making it impossible to see. "What's going on, Gabriel?"  
  
"Magic!"  
  
Indeed!  
  
When the smoke cleaned, two glowing forms stood before him, one smaller than the other. As the room slowly regained its magical glow, they both became visible. It was a pair of men, both dressed in Arab attire--the customary vest and baggy pants--with golden shoes, shackles on their wrists and chain earrings on their left ears. The smaller of the two was pale with a thin, lithe form and soft, pale gold hair, wearing a blue suit, while the taller was well toned and tan with spiky copper hair and a green suit. Both had black parallel lines tattooed under both eyes with triangle shapes in them, making zigzag designs that were both odd and intriguing, and each had a silver dot on their left temple. The two were staring around, looking mildly surprised.  
  
The one in green stretched his arms above his head and yawned, then bent over backward and cracked his back. "Finally," he said. "That cramped space was becoming unbearable!"  
  
"We're out!" the little one in blue exclaimed, jumping up and down elastically. "We're actually out, Gin! Can you believe it?"  
  
"Of COURSE we're out. It wasn't like we were going to stay in there forever!"  
  
"But we were buried so deep in the ground!"  
  
"Very true, Gene."  
  
Gabriel and Duo exchanged glances. "Who?" the elf asked. "Who they?"  
  
Both men looked at them and the taller smirked while the younger beamed brightly, breaking the darkness. "Look Gene," the one in green said to the one in blue. "I believe they freed us."  
  
"Yes, Gin, definitely!" The one in blue knelt in front of Duo and grasped his hands. "Thank you so much! It was so uncomfortable in there!"  
  
He blinked. "Uh. Sure?"  
  
The one in green sighed, shaking his head. "Gene, he has no idea what he's done."  
  
"Oh?" Gene looked at him, smiling. "You don't, Master?"  
  
Duo did a double take. "MASTER?"  
  
"Of course! You freed us, so we owe you three wishes!"  
  
He paused, then looked at Gabriel, who gasped. "Genie!" he exclaimed.  
  
Duo blinked. "You two are GENIES?!"  
  
The taller nodded. "Technically, but the proper term is jinn. I am Gin, and that is Gene."  
  
"Hello!" he said, beaming. He was hyper, and it was scary!  
  
"What's a gin? Isn't that your name?"  
  
Gin smacked a hand to his forehead and Gene laughed good-naturedly. "Let me explain," the blonde said, softly. He pointed to the silver freckle on his left temple. "This is the mark of the jinn, what you call genies. We are here because you released us from our lamp, and in turn, we own you three wishes."  
  
"What, each?"  
  
"No, together. Our powers are one."  
  
"Oh." Duo blinked. "So...you two owe me three wishes for rubbing that lamp?"  
  
Gin nodded, fiddling idly with his earring. "Yes, that about sums it up."  
  
Duo grinned. "WOW!"  
  
Gabriel started jumping up and down. "Wait! Trapped! What good?"  
  
Gin and Gene exchanged glances, a scowl crossing Gin's face. "What good?" he hissed. "We're JINN, you annoying little sprite!"  
  
"Elf," Duo said, flatly. "Sprites are hyper, colorful and smaller with wings. Gabriel is an elf, because he helps, but what he's saying is, gin or not--"  
  
"Jinn," Gene corrected. "Pronounced half like gin and half like zin. Jinn."  
  
"Sorry. JINN or not, what good are wishes that do nothing but give us things when we're trapped in a place with stuff anyway."  
  
Gin growled and clenched his hands into fists at his sides. Gene smiled at him. "Easy now, EASY." The blonde jinn smiled and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
Duo blinked. //OH! So THAT'S it.//  
  
"WHY is it that people don't get it, Gene? Explain that to me!"  
  
"Gin, relax." He turned to Duo. "You see, within reason, jinn--or genies if it makes you feel better--are all-powerful beings. We can do anything from turn a person into a bunny to make the continents turn purple and grass grow from the sky. We have some limitations, and that's only because of the technical, social and emotional problems that granting those wishes could cause, but other than that, we can do ANYTHING."  
  
"Anything but get me and Gabe outta here."  
  
Gin growled and Gene sighed. "And just what makes you think we can't?" Gin asked, flatly.  
  
"Easy, Gin, calm down."  
  
"You couldn't even get outta that rusty old oil lamp, let alone this place," Duo retorted, smirking. He knew very well that the cockier of the two was likely to blast them out free of charge if he made him mad enough. He may have been uneducated, but he wasn't stupid; jinn could literally do anything within reason, and getting a boy and an elf out of an underground chamber was as easy as blowing one's nose to them!  
  
"That was different! Those lamps are spelled by the all-high jinn to keep us in, but nothing else can do that, excluding an enchanted bottle! Blowing this place would be cake!"  
  
"Prove it."  
  
"Gin..." Gene said, softly. "Honey, please..."  
  
"Hush!" Gin snapped. He took Gene's bangled hand and held it up. "You want out, kid? Fine. Hold on to your sprite!"  
  
"Elf!" Gabriel and Duo chimed.  
  
"Whatever." With a flash, the chamber around them seemed to melt away, becoming the deep desert.  
  
Duo blinked, then stood up and looked at his elf, who was staring around, grinning. "Cool!"  
  
"Cool indeed," Gin muttered, folding his arms. "Foolish mortal, the jinn can do anything, and now you know, at the cost of one wish."  
  
Gabriel smirked. "No, still three wish."  
  
Gene smacked a hand over his own mouth, gasping. "Oh my."  
  
"WHAT did you say, sprite?" Gin hissed.  
  
"Elf," Gabriel spat. "And three wish still. You did on own out of anger. Duo not wish free, genie did on own."  
  
Gin's eyes widened and he jumped. "I can't believe it!"  
  
Duo burst out laughing as Gene grabbed his friend, preventing him from jumping at the elf, who joined the braided orphan. "You did it yourself, man! I didn't actually WISH to get out of that place, you did THAT on your own!"  
  
"You tricked me, you little--"  
  
"Gin!" Gene exclaimed, covering his mouth. "Please, don't do this now. Just let it go." He glanced back over his shoulder at Duo, who had quickly regained his composure. "Master, no more of that, please. I agree to let it go if you don't rub it in."  
  
"No problem," Duo said, smiling and standing up. "I just wanted to see if you two were what you said. I won't try to con any more wishes outta you, I promise."  
  
"He call me sprite," Gabriel hissed, pointing at Gin. The green-clad jinn scowled. "Tell him I elf."  
  
"I'll try to help remind him," Gene said, quickly. He gave Gin a severe look, then released his mouth and turned back to Duo. "Well, if we are to be out in the desert, we may as well have shelter. It's been a while, but I think I can still do it..." He knelt and touched the sand below him, then nodded.  
  
Suddenly, a blanket of green spread across the bare sand, and several palm trees shot up from it. In moments, Duo was sitting right in the center of an oasis, right next to a small pond of cool, clear water, with green grass and plants all around him. He blinked. "Wow..."  
  
"Much better. I never liked sand." Gene beamed. He was a sweet young man. Feminine, true, but very sweet. He didn't look any older than sixteen, though the jinn were said to live millions of years without aging. His partner looked at least twenty-five, but that too was irrelevant. They both could have been as old as time itself.  
  
Gin scoffed and folded his legs, staying afloat cross-legged as if he were seated in an invisible chair, then stretched his arms above his head and pulled Gene down into his lap, surprising him. He enclosed the smaller genie in his arms, then gestured and a large, puffy, red pillow appeared beneath Duo. "Might as well get down to it, then," he said. "The ground rules, and pay close attention because I won't repeat them."  
  
Duo got comfortable on the pillow, then set Gabriel on the edge and let him get comfortable. "Okay."  
  
"Rule number one: the jinn cannot kill. We are capable of crippling, injuring and stunning, but murder is exempt from our abilities."  
  
"The jinn are generally pure," Gene said. "All of our rules are set so we don't disturb the natural order of things to a very great extent. Blessings of gifts, wealth or power are fine, because they are outside the main rules- -loopholes, really--but killing can affect a great many people. For instance, killing a father. The man's wife and children would suffer, as would his friends, and they could die of grief as well. Then their relatives and friends might do the same. That creates an endless ring of death, and we can't have that, because we are supposed to help, not hurt."  
  
Duo nodded. "Well, why can't you just sorta bring back the people that the wish impacts?"  
  
Gin shook his head, his earring jingling. "That leads to rule two: the jinn cannot resurrect the dead."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Gene smiled, tolerantly. "Think of it this way. Let us say a child wishes for her mother to be brought back, though she is already a few months dead. Not only would her body be half decomposed, making her a zombie, but she may be unhappy with being dragged from the afterlife. Also, after death, the soul is well gone and the mother would not be the same, and all of that doesn't even begin to explain the problems that would arise were she seen by friends that knew she was dead. That would terrify people, cause pandemonium, and so forth. Things would not be pretty."  
  
Duo sighed. Well, scratch the idea of bringing Helen back. Ah, well. "I get that much."  
  
"Rule three," Gin continued. "The jinn cannot force any human being to fall in love with any other."  
  
Damn! That was another one gone! So much for Heero being his! "Explain before I start getting pissed."  
  
Gene once again offered an answer. "Once again, it has to do with the group affect, but it also has to do with the natural order. Think of a woman that loves a man meant for someone else and wishes that he loved her. He might worship her after that, but the other woman would be heart-broken and his love would be false, because real love is determined by the Creator, not the creations."  
  
"Couldn't the other woman find another?"  
  
This time, Gin answered. "No. Every person is born with a soul mate, the one person meant for them, and true love cannot be obtained without both soul mates being together. If the first woman stole the man meant for the second, not only would she never find her own soul mate, but the second woman would be forever alone without true love, and that would be unfair to both she and her male love."  
  
Duo sighed, nodding. "Oh...any more rules?"  
  
Both shook their heads. "That's all. Anything else is manageable to some extent."  
  
"Any questions?"  
  
Duo shook his head. "Not really, but I can't think of anything to wish for."  
  
The jinn both shrugged and Gene sighed, leaning back against Gin's broad chest. "I think I'll nap, then. Wake me if you figure one out."  
  
"No problem." Duo paused to consider a wish. Riches would be great, but what good would that do him if he was alone. He couldn't wish for his sister, or that Heero loved him, so what was there to wish for? He was fine being poor, but without either Helen or Heero, he was going to be unhappy.  
  
So, he sat on the pillow and thought, and thought...and thought some more. He didn't even notice as his elf fell off the pillow and began to snore, or that the genies were still waiting, but in what seemed like no time at all, the sun was rising.  
  
As the light of the new morning reached his weary eyes, he realized that he had spent his entire night thinking about what to wish for. Now, Gabriel was sleeping in the grass and the jinn were together on the bank of the river, Gene sleeping with his head on Gin's thigh. The taller entity was working on something made of wood with a knife, looking only partially interested.  
  
Duo had come up with his wish, but phrasing it was the main problem. One wrong word and it could all be ruined, as he understood, because the jinn liked to trick their masters and took the phrasing of a wish very seriously. For instance, if one wished for immortality and power, the jinn would turn the master into a genie and take their place as a human. Some were sneaky and did it on purpose, but most of them took everything seriously.  
  
He paused as he watched Gin working on his little gadget made of wood, observing the dull look on his face that he had worn through the entire time since he had been freed. Why was he always so upset?  
  
Since he was still thinking, he decided to make peace with the jinn, in hopes of lessening his chance of being turned into a pig at a bad wish. From where he was sitting, it seemed a better idea to be friends with an all-powerful than enemies, because an entity that could maim people was better on his side than that of an adversary.  
  
He got up and stretched, working the kinks out of his shoulders and legs, then approached him. He was carving what looked like a flute from wood, but it didn't have holes in it. Instead, it had buttons atop it and many strange parts that didn't look very reasonable. "Hi," Duo offered softly.  
  
Gin looked up at him momentarily before going back to his whittling. He was apparently very uninterested in the brunette boy as a person.  
  
Slowly, Duo sat down in front of him, glancing momentarily at Gene, who was fast asleep. He was a cute guy. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the object he was making.  
  
"A flute," Gin said, shortly.  
  
"I thought a flute had holes in it. What are those?"  
  
"Buttons. They will make these in the future in place of pipes, and they'll be made of steel and silver."  
  
Duo raised an eyebrow. THAT was strange. Ah, well. "You sure? It looks like it won't work."  
  
Gin rolled his eyes and stuck the knife in the ground, then put the single hole in the reed to his lips. His fingers touched the buttons and Duo was amazed when a very beautiful tone issued from it. Slowly, the jinn played a soft song, and Gene nuzzled his leg as he did, smiling. He finished it quickly, then lowered it and went back to carving at it.  
  
"Wow...that's cool."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Duo eyed Gene, who was possessively clutching the copper-haired entity's leg and snuggling into it cutely. He smiled. "So...you two are close?" Gin nodded. "How so?"  
  
"Lovers."  
  
"Ah. I thought men didn't love men."  
  
Gin's jade eyes locked on him, scalding him, then turned back to his work again. "Jinn do as they please, and if you don't like it--"  
  
"Oh, no! It's not like that!" he said, quickly, raising his hands. "I...I think you two fit pretty well. I mean, I've just never seen a pair of men together like you two are."  
  
Gin set his flute down and stroked the blonde's pale locks, making him sigh and clutch tighter to his legs. "You won't see it many places, because it is rare as of now. In the future it will be more incessant a sight and occurrence."  
  
"Oh...how did you meet?"  
  
"That's personal."  
  
Duo quickly put up his hands in the 'I surrender' pose. "Okay, okay, don't be so grouchy!" Gin rolled his eyes and went back to his work, and the braided boy once again noticed that the look frequented his handsome face a good amount of the time. "Why are you always frowning that way?"  
  
"Why should I smile?" he countered, flatly.  
  
Duo shrugged. "HE smiles." He pointed to Gene.  
  
"He's optimistic, and he's entitled to that, but I have a more realistic look on our situation."  
  
"Realistic? You're a grouch. You should try smiling."  
  
"I don't find a reason." Gin's tone told him that the matter was closed.  
  
"WHY NOT?" Duo asked, refusing to let it go. "I mean, you don't have anything to worry about! You'll never get sick, never starve, never get old and wrinkly, and never die. You've got power, looks, HIM. What HAVEN'T you got?"  
  
"Freedom."  
  
Duo blinked. "You're not free?"  
  
Gin pointed at the lamp, which was still clutched in his hands. "Gene and I are bound to that thing for eternity until freed by a master, and you can guess how often that's happened."  
  
He nodded. "Well...at least you haven't got to be alone."  
  
"Fine then, if not freedom, then humanity. Mortality is what I lack, and that is what I want. Unlike you mortals who can find a lamp and get what you want, I am locked in an eternity of servitude to a bunch of selfish mortals that only think of themselves."  
  
Duo sighed. No wonder he was always so sad. He would be too! "Gin..."  
  
"What."  
  
"...if you were me, what would you wish for?"  
  
He looked rather surprised, but the look was only momentary. That blank expression locked into place again seconds later. "I am not, so what does it matter."  
  
"No, really," Duo said, quickly. "I want to know. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?"  
  
Gin set the flute and knife down again, pausing. "I've never been asked that before."  
  
"Well, think about it."  
  
He shrugged. "If not my and Gene's freedom, I'd wish...I could feel."  
  
Duo blinked. "You don't feel?"  
  
"The jinn have no need of sensation, or pleasure. Hearts we have, souls most of us lack, but the sense of touch is dulled and pleasure is lacking."  
  
"Oh..." Now Duo felt worse.  
  
"But," Gin sighed. "No use in your worrying over my problems." For once, he looked generally upset. His eyes were cast down, locked on Gene's handsome face. He sighed again. "Allah knows, no one else ever has except him. Just make your wishes."  
  
Duo nodded. "Well, there is this guy I like..."  
  
Gin looked at him and Gene was awake in a blink. "WHAT?" they chimed.  
  
"Yeah, I like a guy," he admitted, feeling his face redden.  
  
"We can't make him love you," Gene said, groggily, stretching and leaning against Gin's shoulder. "We've explained this."  
  
"I know, I know...but he's amazing, he really is." Duo stood up, smiling as he remembered seeing the beautiful form of the prince in the water at the river. "He's shaped like a god, and his eyes are like sapphires, and I don't mean like the stuff in that cave. Oh no, they shone like nothing I've ever seen, and his smile was enough to melt gold." He sighed, pausing and lowering his eyes. "But...he's the crown prince, and he has to marry a princess. Hell, to even have a chance, I'd have to be a woman, and a pretty one at that--" He paused and looked at the genies. Gin was smirking and Gene was snickering. "Hey, you guys didn't mention anything in the rules against changing genders, did you?"  
  
Gin shook his head. "Perfectly legal."  
  
"But even as a pretty girl," Gene said in a cautioning tone, "He IS a prince and you would have to be a princess. That would be two wishes down the drain, one to be a woman and one to be rich."  
  
Duo nodded. "True...and besides, I'd need that extra wish to become a man again if he doesn't want me..." He stopped, frowning. That thought hurt. "Anyway, I don't really want to be a woman...but I want him so much...is that wrong?" He turned and looked at them. "Sure, for you jinn you can love each other and be either sex, but around here we aren't supposed to...does that make me sick?"  
  
Gene stood up and grasped his shoulders, smiling. "No. You cannot choose who you love, simply HOW you love, and that still doesn't help. I am sure Allah understands, because He's the one that makes this happen."  
  
Duo nodded. "But TWO wishes to be a woman and what I don't want to be..."  
  
Suddenly, Gabriel appeared on his shoulder. "Wish princess! Wish princess!"  
  
He scowled. "I just covered that! I don't want to be a woman!"  
  
"NO!" Gabriel exclaimed in his ear. "Wish to SEEM like princess. That mean gold AND woman look. Not NEED be woman, just need LOOK like woman."  
  
"Now THAT is true," Gene said, cracking a bright smile. "Your hair is long enough that all you would need is a dress to play off female, and Gin and I can create gold and jewels."  
  
"You guys are helping me!" Duo exclaimed. Gene's smile grew into a grin. "I thought genies just wanted to grant wishes and get it over with!"  
  
"Of COURSE I don't!" Gene exclaimed. "If anything at all, I want to help you get the one you love. I adore helping people, and the more each wish counts the better!" He turned his head and looked at Gin, who was scowling again. He apparently didn't like to bend the rules. "Oh Gin, PLEASE! Come on, for the sake of true love! YOU of all entities can understand the need of THAT!"  
  
Gin closed his eyes for a moment and sighed deeply, then nodded and floated to his feet. "Very well. For the sake of true love, and because you asked."  
  
Gene jumped onto the green-clad jinn and laughed, hugging him. "Finally, after all these years, we can HELP someone again! Thank you, love, thank you!"  
  
Gin sighed and a reluctant smile passed over his lips. "Let's do it then." He cracked his knuckles and looked at Duo, then sighed. "This will take a lot of magic, Gene, you know that."  
  
Gene smiled. "I know!" He turned to him. "Master, you are going to be the most beautiful, rich, most celebrated princess ever."  
  
Duo blinked as he found himself being dragged to the oasis pool. "You know I only want to LOOK like a woman, right?"  
  
"Of course, but that will mean you have to be clean."  
  
"Uh-oh."  
  
****End of part one 


	2. Part Two

Jacked-Up Classics: Aladdin  
  
**** ~  
  
Xhen-Phi stared into the sphere at the tip of his staff, then sighed and shook his head.  
  
"No luck, boss?" Din asked, landing on his shoulder.  
  
He shook his head. "The lamp cannot be found by magical means, because of the interference of the enchantment on it. That little punk was buried with it, I assume."  
  
"The sultan is coming back today, though!"  
  
"I know that, fool!" Xhen-Phi spat, angrily. "No matter. Let the old man return. His son knows of the danger he is in if he tries to tell his father of my plan, and as soon as his birthday passes, I will be sultan and the old man will have an accident."  
  
"Can we drop him off a cliff?"  
  
The sorcerer smirked. "I believe it would be better to poison him, and then I will find a spell to do what my wish would have anyway. A pity, really, but it does not matter. I can do it, though it would have been much easier with that genie."  
  
Din suddenly sprouted his little black batwings and zipped away, only to return a moment later. "The sultan's here."  
  
"Spectacular." Xhen-Phi stood from the throne and strode to the archway, only to pause moments later as a golden-skinned young man in red cut him off. "Your father approaches."  
  
"I know," Jasper hissed at him. "You will not get away with it, I swear to you. When he finds out what you've--"  
  
"He will NOT," Xhen-Phi hissed, pointing the staff at the boy. The crystal lit up and his expression went blank. "You will die if you ever tell your father of my plan, instantly."  
  
Jasper immediately stepped away. "I will die," he echoed.  
  
"And you are afraid to tell him, so you will not."  
  
"I will not."  
  
He smirked, then used the mounted crystal to shove the boy aside. "Good lad. Now go silently to your room."  
  
Jasper was able to see past his hypnotism and Xhen-Phi knew it, but he kept quiet. The impact on his mind was less than it would be on the mind of another less strong-willed man, but it did keep him silent. Any other person would have thought that their death would meet them if they spoke, but Jasper, he knew that if he told Xhen-Phi would get him anyway, and his mind would implode as a fail-safe if he even considered tattling, so he kept his silence and left. That was the good thing about teenagers--they were so asinine. That, and Xhen-Phi had been plaguing his dreams with nightmares to keep him in check since his father had left three days ago. Yes, it was all perfect.  
  
"Let us go greet the sultan, Din."  
  
The little imp's batwings turned to angel wings and his outfit turned white. "Yessir."  
  
Xhen-Phi swept from the palace and met the sultan with his usual fake guise of total loyalty, then suffered through the recap of his trip to Egypt and advised him on a treaty with them. It was all basic, really, and pretending was no problem, because it was primarily lying anyway. He was almost jealous of the real advisor whose name and identity he had stolen by killing him before the man had even reached the palace so many years ago. He was LUCKY to be dead--ANYTHING was better than listening to the old man talk!  
  
Finally, it came to the point that the sultan was finished, so he brought out his doctrine that he had so carefully written that would make him sultan in the event that the prince did not marry. He put it before the old man. "I need your signature here, my lord," he said, knowing he couldn't see past his nose anyway, "And all your problems will be remedied."  
  
"Oh, of course." He pulled out a quill and dipped it into his ink-bottle.  
  
Before he could sign, music became evident and the palace doors flew open.  
  
//Oh, what now?!//  
  
~  
  
Duo was so happy he could have just died. The jinn had set him up perfectly as a princess. He was garbed in a red gown with so many scarves that his flat chest and male figure were hidden. His hair was unbraided and put up in a ponytail, and he had servants and caravans of jewels and gold. Hell, he was so rich that that Princess Aucmeda would have been green with envy!  
  
Come to think of it, she'd probably look better green!  
  
The jinn had made Gabriel into a full-sized personal attendant, seemingly female of course, and now GABRIELLA was seated to the right of him on the mobile red dais, which was being carried by a quartet of servants like Aucmeda's, only bigger and sexier. It was great! "This is the life, eh, Gabe?"  
  
He shrugged, then adjusted his golden mesh belly dancer's outfit and fixed his earrings. He was enjoying being life-size instead of fun-size, and boy was he a convincing woman! Duo was almost worried that Heero might like Gabe more than him, but the jinn had both assured him that he looked better by far.  
  
The jinn were on foot, both garbed in their according colored uniforms and posing as ambassadors, marching ahead of the elephant and the rest of the parade. It was great of them, it really was. Behind them were a bunch of dancers carrying large golden basins filled with jeweled fruit, fine cloth and silver goblets, and behind the dais was an army of men carrying armor and weapons of gold. They'd make a hell of an impression, no doubt about it!  
  
The parade stopped in front of the sultan and his advisor, who turned out to be that sorcerer from the Cave of Wonders. On his shoulder was perched a little figure with wings that could have been an elf had he not looked so evil. At the sight of him, a low growl issued from Gabriel's throat and he clenched his fists.  
  
"What's wrong, Gabe?" he whispered.  
  
"Imp," Gabriel hissed, softly. "Bad elf. Evil."  
  
"You can tell?"  
  
"I smell him. He bad. He DANGEROUS."  
  
Duo patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you could take him, Gabe, so don't worry."  
  
Gabriel bit his painted lip and shook his head, staying silent.  
  
Gin and Gene bowed in perfect synch, gracefully. They both looked amazingly human, though they both still had the silver freckle and black tattoos under their eyes. Gene had hidden them with some kind of make-up, saying that if anyone knew what jinn were, they would be busted and he would be in trouble. "Greetings, Sultan," Gin said, diplomatically. He naturally had the perfect voice for this. "We have come from a land afar to offer our princess as a bride to your son. We have heard that he is very unsatisfied with the rest, true?"  
  
"You cannot come parading in here unannounced and without an appointment," the advisor spat.  
  
"No, Wufei, give them a chance," the old sultan said. "This is true, sirs. May I ask whom you are?"  
  
"We are Ambassadors Trowa and Quatre from the land of Siberiarabegypt, and we bring the beautiful Princess Dyad to court your son."  
  
The servants put the dais down and Gabe got out, bowing gracefully before the sultan before coming back and helping Duo himself out. The advisor and sultan both stared and he bowed politely, smiling in the manner Gene had taught him, graceful and pretty.  
  
"We come bearing gifts of weapons for your warriors," Gene said, gesturing. The men with the arms quickly brought them forward and showed them off.  
  
The sultan was staring, and the advisor looked annoyed. "My, that's generous of you."  
  
"We wish to make clear our friendly intentions, sultan," Gin said. "Dyad is very eager to meet and marry your prince, and to show that our wealth is very real and our intent is sincere, we bring you these rare jeweled fruits from the royal vaults." He gestured and the dancers pranced forward, offering them before the sultan.  
  
The advisor suddenly looked less amazed and more suspicious, and Duo knew why. The fruit was from the wrecked cave, and he had seen it. He had used a piece of this very fruit to trap Duo inside. "Impossible," he heard him mutter. He eyed Duo, who kept his eyes on the sultan. "I have never heard of any kingdom of Siberiarabegypt before."  
  
"Did I not mention that we are from far away?" Gin asked, archly. "Our kingdom is many millions of miles away, and we traveled this far for a chance to impress Your Imperial Highness." Gin had explained to Duo that he had worked under royalty before, and as an ambassador in a war in Saudi Arabia, so he knew what he was doing and how to smooth it over.  
  
"And impressed we are!" the sultan exclaimed. "Jasper may like you, young lady."  
  
"I hope so, Majesty," Duo said, bowing his head. God, he wanted that prince! If he played it right and Heero fell in love with him like this, then he would use his second wish to become a woman and his third to free the jinn. It was that simple!  
  
"Your Majesty," Wufei said, suddenly. "This is completely and utterly insane. You can't possibly be considering allowing the prince to marry such a...such a person as she!"  
  
"You find fault in our princess?" Gin asked, sharply, stepping toward the thin man with annoyance written on his features.  
  
"How can you say that she is worthy of the prince, ambassador?" Wufei countered.  
  
Gin smiled, handsomely. "Are you blind, good sir? Can you not see her beauty and riches?"  
  
"That's fine!" the sultan said, suddenly. "Fetch my son! If he agrees, Dyad will become his queen!"  
  
A servant rushed off to fetch the prince and Duo's heart skipped. He only hoped that he could seduce him in this form, because if not, he would have to reveal himself at the risk of getting kicked out. That was fine, though, because he only wanted a chance to be with Heero for a few moments, in his eyes if not in his arms, and that would be enough.  
  
Soon, the servant returned with a gorgeous man clad in a red uniform, and Duo's jaw dropped. He was absolutely irresistible when naked and wet, but when he put on airs he was utterly, indescribably beautiful! "You summoned me, father."  
  
"Yes, yes," the sultan said, gesturing to the jinn, Gabriel and Duo. "Jasper, this is Princess Dyad of Siberiarabegypt and she has come to court you with her ambassadors and, ahem, an offering of riches and precious stones."  
  
Gin cleared his throat, loudly, and Duo got the hint. He bowed gracefully, and the jinn and Gabriel all did the same. "Good afternoon, Prince Jasper," he said in a gentle voice. He'd been practicing hard at this along the way. "I am pleased to meet you."  
  
Heero didn't look pleased at all, but his father nudged him and he took Duo's hand, kissing the back and bowing. He blushed and Heero smiled, handsomely. It was visibly forced. "A pleasure, princess." He turned to the sultan again. "FATHER!" he hissed.  
  
"Now, now, Jasper," he said. "Your birthday is nigh, and as I see it, it is either Princess Dyad here, or Princess AUCMEDA of Mesopotamia, so I suggest you get to know this young woman and make a decision as soon as possible, for if you do not, you will lose your right to the kingdom."  
  
Heero's jaw dropped, but he nodded in acquiescence and quickly departed, disappearing around the corner.  
  
Duo frowned, then looked at Gene, who offered him an encouraging smile before turning back to the sultan. Heero didn't like him. //Damn it...// He felt a hand touch his back and glanced over at Gabriel, who sighed and shrugged. That was his way of saying 'I'm sorry.' He forced a weak smile.  
  
"Oh, never mind him," the old sultan said, shaking his head. "He'll love you once he gets to know you, dear girl. He's just a bit stubborn, just like his mother." He whistled and a young man of maybe twenty appeared, clad in tan and apparently new at this job. All the servants wore this color.  
  
In fact, the only colorful people in the palace, it seemed, were the black- clad advisor, white-clad sultan, the green-clad Gin, the blue-clad Gene and red-clad Heero. And himself, of course. Gabriel was wearing gold, not tan, so he/she shone in the sunlight, but in the dim light of the palace, he matched the others.  
  
"Yes, Majesty?" the young servant asked.  
  
"Jean Claude, please show Princess Dyad and her party to their rooms."  
  
Gene quickly cleared his throat. "Um, if I may, Highness," he started, "Our caravan only came to bring the gifts, and will be returning to our home, but Trowa and myself will be staying, and I must warn you, we and her hand- maid must be near her at all times. For precautionary reasons, of course."  
  
As he said this, the servants set all the jewels and armor and gifts out before the sultan, then turned and marched away, bringing the animals with them as they left.  
  
Wufei was eyeing Gene, so he beamed and the man looked away.  
  
The sultan nodded. "Very well, Ambassador Quatre. Jean Claude, pick a pair of adjacent chambers, one for Dyad and her maid, and one for her guardians."  
  
The jinn bowed and Duo and Gabriel curtsied, then went quickly to the servant named Jean Claude, who was a pale-haired, tall young man with a very shy-looking expression on his face. He looked them all over, but the moment his eyes hit Gabriel, he did a double take and stared. His mouth fell open.  
  
Gin smirked slyly and Gene snickered. "Isn't that cute?" Gene whispered.  
  
"What?" Duo asked, softly.  
  
Gabriel blushed and cleared his throat, pinching Duo's bare side hard with his fake fingernails.  
  
He got the message. "Uh...our rooms?"  
  
Jean Claude blinked, then blushed. "Umm...right this way..." He smiled, sheepishly, then looked at Gabriel once more before turning and heading away.  
  
Gin smirked. "Well, well. Isn't that wonderful." They quickly followed.  
  
Gene grabbed Gabriel's arm. "Oh, he likes you!" he squealed softly, "And on your first day as a human!"  
  
"No!" he hissed. "No! No, no, no! Gabriel elf, not fairy, ELF!"  
  
"Hush now or he'll here you!" Gene said, smiling. "Besides, you don't have to like him back...I just think it's cute."  
  
"Gene, he might not think as we do, so leave him be."  
  
"But I wasn't--" he stopped as Gin's eyes narrowed, illuminating with a strange green light in the dim corridor. He quickly put his head down, frowning deeply. "Sorry."  
  
Duo was tempted to ask what he'd done to him with that, but he stopped himself and stayed silent as they were led up a flight of stairs and brought to a pair of large, curtained doorways.  
  
"Here we are," Jean Claude said. He motioned to them. "The left set is for the ambassadors--there are two beds, gentlemen."  
  
Gin and Gene nodded, though Duo was sure they wouldn't need more than one.  
  
"And the right one is for you, Princess Dyad, and your..." he eyed Gabe again and the human-sized elf blinked, "...lovely assistant. I don't believe I got your name, Miss...?"  
  
"Gabriella," Duo said, quickly. "She doesn't speak too well."  
  
He offered his hand, which the green-eyed elf hesitantly took. The servant kissed it and Gabriel suddenly turned an unbecoming shade of red. "Foreign?" He nodded and Jean Claude smiled. "I look forward to serving you, Miss Gabriella."  
  
He nodded, silently, smiling weakly and holding his hand to his chest.  
  
Jean Claude cleared his throat, then turned and parted the curtains into their room. "There is a bath there," he said, motioning to a pond built into the floor within. "Just ask and I will have it filled for you ladies at any time, and the same with you, sirs. Also, there is a cord on the wall between the beds that, if pulled at night, summons me to you, and I am available by simple whim during the day. As I said, I am here to serve you." He bowed, and Duo noted how his eyes kept straying to Gabriel, who kept his eyes down and away from those of the servant.  
  
//This guy's hot to get under Gabe's skirt!// he thought. //He really likes him!// Duo grabbed Gabriel's arm and smiled, prettily. "Thank you, Jean Claude. Come along, GABRIELLA." He quickly pulled him inside and closed the curtains, then listened carefully as the jinn spoke briefly to the servant before sending him on his way. He sighed with relief. "You okay, Gabe?"  
  
"Not like him," he muttered, folding his arms across the gold material of his halter-top.  
  
Suddenly, Gin and Gene ducked in, there uniforms turning abruptly to their normal garb as they passed through the curtains. "But why?" Gene asked. "He hasn't done anything bad."  
  
"I MAN!" he snapped. "Gabriel is MAN! *ELVEN* MAN! Not woman, **MAN**!!!"  
  
Gin once again pinned Gene with that glowing look and he lowered his head again, being silent. "Neither of us is asking you to like him," he said, sternly. "We simply ask that you be polite to him, Gabriel. If he even so much as suspects that you are not female, this entire thing could become very involved, and you wouldn't want Duo to lose his chance at Prince Jasper, would you, now?"  
  
Gabriel slowly lowered his eyes, then sighed.  
  
"Gabriel?" Duo asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"No," he sighed. He scowled. "GABRIELLA. I woman now."  
  
Duo sighed, smiling, then patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks so much, Gabe. I owe you."  
  
"Yes," he hissed. "You owe BIG!"  
  
**** ~  
  
"That girl..." Xhen-Phi hissed. "She could ruin everything! If Jasper marries her, I will lose my chance, and then..." he paused, frowning and looking into the crystal at the end of his staff. "Jasper will have my head on a platter."  
  
Din appeared again. "Master," he said, his batwings helping him hover in place, "I smell something."  
  
He rolled eyes. "Did you ever think that it would possibly be YOU?"  
  
"No, Master," he said. "I smell something...good...pure."  
  
"I am in no mood, Din."  
  
The imp landed in front of him. "Master, I mean it! I smell a good fairy...they smell like frozen water."  
  
Xhen-Phi sighed. "And if you do, what does this signify to me?"  
  
Din paused, then shrugged. "I dunno, but I don't like it. I hate elves."  
  
The sorcerer smacked his imp out of the air with his staff, then growled. "Damn it, if that girl marries Jasper, he will become sultan and my chances will be sunk. I must find a way to get rid of her."  
  
The splattered little creature quickly picked himself up off the floor, groaning. "What can you do, Master?"  
  
He growled, then clenched his fists together and sighed. "I don't know...but I have to do something."  
  
**** ~  
  
Duo, Gabriel, Gene and Gin all went to dinner, escorted by Jean Claude, who seemed more than a little interested in the elf, but not in the natural male way of "I'm gonna screw you stupid"...eh, it wasn't important.  
  
They arrived in the dining hall and quickly seated themselves on the huge throw pillows surrounding the low table, Duo sitting across from Heero with Gabriel at his right side and Gene on his left. Gin put himself across from Wufei, in order to keep an eye on him. He didn't trust him, and who would?  
  
The sultan laughed. "Good evening Dyad." He nudged his son. "Say HELLO, Jasper."  
  
"Hello, Princess Dyad," he said, flatly. He looked sadly uninterested.  
  
Duo frowned and Heero gasped as a thunk rang out. His father had kicked him.  
  
"Jasper!"  
  
"I apologize, father."  
  
The sultan cleared his throat as they brought out the food, then nudged his son again in the ribs. "TALK to her, my boy, or you will marry Aucmeda."  
  
Heero gasped, dropping the utensil he had picked up at that moment. "How old are you, princess."  
  
"Seventeen," he said, carefully. "And you?"  
  
"The same for now."  
  
That was the end of that.  
  
Gene cleared his throat. "Dyad," he said, toning his voice in a way that it was apparent he didn't approve.  
  
"Um...Prince H--" he winced as Gabriel nailed him in the side with a fork, "--Jasper," he corrected before the rest of the name came out. He said Heero and it was all over! "I see you have a pet."  
  
"Zero is not a pet," he said, flatly. "He is my friend."  
  
"Jasper, don't talk like that," the sultan said. "You'll make her think you're mad."  
  
"I AM mad," he muttered. "Zero is NOT a pet."  
  
Not a good way to start a conversations. "Um...well...do you have any friends besides him?"  
  
"With what TIME or FREEDOM?"  
  
Strike two... "Uh...what do you DO all day if you haven't got any friends?"  
  
"What else," Heero asked, shortly, "I stare at walls and wish that I was anywhere but here, and I'm getting that feeling right about now."  
  
"Jasper..."  
  
Duo blushed, feeling less than two inches tall. This was awful! Heero was annoyed with him and so far all he was doing was putting himself in hot water. He had no chance. "I'm sorry..." he murmured, softly, not even bothering to heighten his voice. It was too soft to notice anyway. "I..." A feeling hit him like none before and he stood, his heart sinking into the acids of his stomach. "Excuse me." He took off running from the room, not bothering to look back as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Heero would never love him. Never.  
  
~  
  
Gin blinked. //Damn it!// He motioned to Gabriel, who followed him. "Indeed," he said, finally.  
  
Jasper looked mildly worried, but more surprised. "What...?"  
  
Gene sighed. "Nothing you did was in error, Your Highness. Dyad is just very emotional."  
  
"Was she...crying?"  
  
Gin sighed. //Damn mortals and their emotions. He's botched it on the first night.// "Do not trouble yourself over it, Majesty. She is probably weary from the journey, for it was a long one and she did not sleep this afternoon."  
  
"Yes, indeed," Gene agreed, mildly.  
  
Jasper suddenly stood. "Tell me the truth, Ambassador," he said to Gene. Apparently he could somehow tell that Gin wasn't bending, while Gene would bend like a straw if pressured. "Why is she upset?"  
  
Gene looked at Gin, who shook his head. //Don't you even think about it,// he thought. //This is not our concern.//  
  
//But--//  
  
//I just told you NO.//  
  
He bit his lip. "I have no idea, sir."  
  
Jasper stood upright, then looked at his father. "It was something I said," he muttered. "I made her feel bad..." He whistled and Jean Claude came running. "Where is Dyad's room."  
  
"Upstairs, sir, but--"  
  
Jasper bowed his head, then quickly took his leave.  
  
Gin sighed, shaking his head. //Great. Just perfect. Well, at least we can go back soon enough.//  
  
Gene's expression turned to one of horror, but he quickly hid it by drinking from his steel goblet, his eyes darting around fervently. His hand closed on Gin's right boot on the pillow and he blinked.  
  
//Gene?//  
  
He didn't answer. He simply kept gulping the wine down, then set his cup on the table and looked down when he was finished.  
  
Gin went to ask out-loud, then paused as a glimmer of silver caught his eye. It was a teardrop.  
  
~  
  
//Stupid, stupid, stupid!// he thought to himself as he ascended the stairs. //Certainly, I don't want to be married, but that gave me no right to make her feel bad. She was simply asking questions. I am such a idiot!// He paused in mid-step. //Why was I so angry at her?//  
  
Then, it came back to him. A memory flashed in his mind...  
  
~{"I thought you were a woman."  
  
The boy scowled at him. "Disappointed?" he asked, flatly.  
  
"No," he answered, honestly, "relieved." It was true.  
  
The boy blinked at him, and Jasper once again realized how beautiful his eyes were. They were wide and innocent, a beautiful amethyst, yet knowing, and so lovely... "Why?"  
  
He shrugged. Apparently, he wasn't really an important person, so why not tell him? "I've never been seen this way by anyone, especially not a woman."  
  
"Oh..." The boy looked away as he wrapped his arms around his torso. He looked to be embarrassed. "I...I had better go before your guards show up and arrest me...I'm sorry." He turned to get out.  
  
Jasper suddenly got a strange urge that he had never had as the slender boy turned his back to him. That hair of his shone in the sunlight like a sheet of pure copper. Slowly, he reached out a hand and touched it, receiving a gasp in response. The boy paused and held his breath, as if he were afraid. "I--" he paused, sighing. "Why is your hair so long?"  
  
"I don't want to cut it," he said. "My...my sister used to say it made me unique, before she died." Jasper gently stroked a hand down that hair, reveling in the feel of the wet strands between his fingers. The boy let out a shuddering sigh. "What are you doing...?"  
  
"I've never met anyone like you..." he breathed. It was true. "I..." He didn't finish. Something about this boy made him feel...strange...he couldn't even define it himself.  
  
The boy turned to look at him and his expression became one of concentration. As he stood there, completely exposed in front of a commoner, all Jasper could do was look at him. He was absolutely magnificent. He had never felt a man was good-looking before, but something about him made him want to be touched by him, which was as close to sexual as he was bound to get. He himself hadn't been truly touched on his bare skin for many years, and that had been only by his nurse. Luckily, just as the thought crossed his mind, the boy shyly extended a hand and touched the bare chest, sending lightning through his body.  
  
The sensation was mind-numbing...it had been so long... "You aren't supposed to do that..." Jasper breathed. He didn't bother stopping him, though; the feeling, the actual contact of real human flesh against his own...it was too much. "Who are you...?"  
  
"I'm Duo," he said. "I'm worthless, but I never lie, so there's a good thing on my side."  
  
Worthless? He was an angel! A god even! "You apparently don't know who I am."  
  
"Sure I do. I think you're Prince Jasper."  
  
He nodded, frowning slightly as he relished in being touched for the first time in years. "I hate that name."  
  
Duo smirked at him. "No offense, but I don't blame you. I mean, a jasper is red, but you're eyes are blue and the rest of you as far as I can see is gold, so it doesn't fit."  
  
Jasper didn't reply for a long while. He slowly brought his hand from the water and clutched Duo's to his chest, sighing aloud as he savored the feeling. He really did like it. "What do you suggest I do about it?"  
  
"I'll call you Heero, then." He smiled and Jasper felt his heart begin to soar. He had fallen in love with a man. "My sister liked that name, and it fits you."}~  
  
Heero shook his head, snapping out of it. That's why he was so mad at Dyad...because she reminded him of Duo, and he was afraid of that. He had fallen in love with the chestnut-haired boy and his beautiful body and positive spirit, and Dyad herself not only resembled him, but something about her smile was reminiscent of his. It was like he was afraid that she would take his place. Certainly, it had been but a week since his heart had been claimed for the first time, and yet, he wasn't ready to love someone else. Was it that he was too sheltered? Did he fall for the first attractive, sweet person he met? It seemed as much.  
  
However, while he had no chance of ever seeing Duo again, let alone being with him forever, Dyad was a good prospect. She was like Duo, and ANYTHING was better than Aucmeda!  
  
As he approached the room, he paused at the sound of sobbing and leaned back against the wall, listening carefully to what was going on within. Curiously, he peeked cautiously through the curtain.  
  
Dyad was sitting atop her bed, crying into the shoulder of her handmaid, who was cradling her and whispering to her in a strange accent. She sounded somewhat French, but her sentence structure was awful.  
  
"There, there..."  
  
"He hates me," Dyad sobbed. Her voice was deeper when she cried? "He really hates me..."  
  
"No," the maid said. "Prince not hate you...just...not like you either."  
  
Dyad sniffled. "Oh, I'm trying my best and nothing I do is right! Five minutes and he was furious!"  
  
The maid's pretty face twisted into an ugly scowl. "Prince is bastard."  
  
"Oh, he is not..."  
  
"Is too," the maid hissed. "Gabriel think prince should jump in lake."  
  
Wait...was that Gabriel of Gabrielle? That accent was so thick he couldn't tell! Gabrielle, probably.  
  
Dyad wiped her eyes, sniffing and shaking her head. She looked amazingly pretty when she cried. "No...no, it isn't his fault he doesn't love me...after all," she sniffled, lowering her eyes and spreading her hands, "who WOULD love me?"  
  
"No!" the maid hissed. "No say! No say that! *I* love!"  
  
Dyad smiled. "You wouldn't be with me if you didn't...but you're just about the only living thing that does."  
  
Her maid scowled and punched her in the arm, leaving a nasty red blotch where her fist connected and receiving a sharp gasp from the princess. She grabbed her chin and made her look into her green eyes. "Beautiful, nice, smart. Too good for mean prince. Find better man."  
  
The red-clad girl laughed, spitefully, then started crying again, burying her face in her pillow. "Who could ever love me?! Explain that to me!"  
  
"Good, smart man love you. If prince not love, prince bad, dumb man. Need nice man, not mean prince. Mean prince can die." Then, a devious look crossed the gold-garbed, green-eyed maid's pretty face. She rubbed her hands together. "Wait...prince die."  
  
Dyad sat up. "Don't even think it!"  
  
She pouted. "But prince hurt you. Gabriel don't like him hurt you."  
  
The princess sighed, then hugged her maid. "Too bad I can't just love you."  
  
The maid shook her head. "Can't. Sorry."  
  
Heero sighed, then knocked a fist against the stone wall with a thunk sound. The response was a pair of gasps. "Princess?"  
  
"Go away!" the maid's voice snapped.  
  
Dyad's hand smacked out over her mouth and silenced her. "Um...yes?"  
  
"I..." he stopped as he heard the maid struggling to get away from her mistress. He sighed. That strange woman was right; he WAS mean. "I'd like to talk to you."  
  
There was a grunt and the maid's voice came to him loudly. "Talk too much, think too little! Be smart once; DON'T TALK!!! Get BRAIN, THEN talk to Dyad!"  
  
"GABRIELLA!"  
  
Heero nodded. Once again, she had a point. He hadn't been thinking when he'd snapped at the princess all those times. He sighed. "Please, Dyad--"  
  
"GO AWAY!"  
  
"BE QUIET, BIG-MOUTH!"  
  
He blinked. "Miss Gabriella," he said as politely as possible.  
  
The moment he said it, the curtains parted and he found himself standing face to face with the golden maid. She was a TALL woman! "Be good boy and LEAVE," she hissed.  
  
He sighed. "I want to apologize to Princess Dyad for my rudeness. I know I had no place making her feel bad, and I'm sorry."  
  
Gabriella snorted, narrowing her eyes on him. "Go jump in river, Prince JERK." She closed the curtains.  
  
~  
  
"Gabe, what are you DOING?!" Duo hissed. "He's saying SORRY! Let him talk to me!"  
  
The human elf scowled. "I should make he have accident," he muttered. His hands began to glow.  
  
Duo leapt forward and grabbed them, clasping them together and holding them between his own. He hugged Gabriel. "I know you're trying to protect me, Gabe," he whispered, "But you can't protect me forever."  
  
"Can TOO."  
  
He smiled, then kissed his friend on the cheek, surprising him. "Thanks, but if I want him to love me, I have to face him on my own." He sighed, then let Gabriel go. "Please, just let me handle it on my own."  
  
Gabe nodded, brushing his bangs back with one hand, then went and sat in the corner on a pile of colorful throw pillows. "Gabriel stay here. If he talk to you, he talk to ME too."  
  
Duo sighed, nodding, then smiled. "Thanks for protecting me, Gabe."  
  
The elf nodded. "No choice."  
  
He quickly went to the door and parted the curtains, catching the sleeve of Heero's vest before he could leave. "You had something to say?"  
  
Heero nodded. "Yes...I believe I owe you an apology. I...should not have been that rude to you."  
  
Duo blinked, then sighed. "Oh."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
He sighed again. "Forgiven," he said, flatly. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He turned back into the room.  
  
Heero suddenly caught his bare arm and he winced at the pain, but didn't say anything. "I mean it," he said. "I really am sorry."  
  
"I understand that."  
  
"But you don't forgive me, do you?"  
  
"Why shouldn't I?"  
  
"Because prince is ass," Gabriel hissed from his corner.  
  
Duo went to comment, but Heero sighed and held his arm firm. "She's right. I AM an ass, and I'm sorry. I can't help it."  
  
Duo looked at him. "Why do you care if I forgive you or not? Because you don't want to marry Princess Aucmeda?"  
  
"No, because I hate the fact that I have nothing but my tiger for company," he said, his eyes dim and lifeless, as if he were deep in thought. "I hate the fact that I have no friends, no life, and no heart to give to you."  
  
"You have no heart?"  
  
He nodded. "Stolen, I'm afraid. Had I the choice, I would give it to you, but it will take time for me to gain it back."  
  
Duo looked up into those beautiful eyes as they once again took on animation, his heart frozen in mid-beat, and slowly, an ungodly urge overcame him. He jumped up onto his toes, his lips meeting the prince's and his chest pressing itself against that of the dark-haired man in his arms as they did so.  
  
He felt Heero's body stiffen against his, but he neither pulled away nor submitted completely to him. He stood perfectly still as Duo reveled in the taste of the prince's lips against his own, as sweet as honey and softer than the finest silk. He privately wondered if he was the first to ever experience this joy with him.  
  
As he gently drew away, amethyst met sapphire and both of them froze. Heero stared down at him, his eyes a blur of beautiful color marked only by a pinprick of his pupil. He looked frightened and overjoyed at the same time, and slowly, his hands encircled Duo's waist as he opened his mouth to speak. Nothing came out.  
  
//Oh, fuck this.// The brunette took advantage of his prince's surprise and plunged his tongue into the open cavern, tasting it with pure joy as he felt those strong, sexy hands close on his hips and hold him tight. Soon, Heero reacted and began kissing back, but after only a moment, they separated for air and started at each other again.  
  
"I..." Heero choked. "I've never...been...touched like that..."  
  
Duo gently stroked a thumb over his lips, smiling, then looked up at him as his eyes closed. "No?"  
  
He shook his head. "Never...I...am not allowed...physical sensation."  
  
The brunette snickered, then gently set his lips against the side of his neck, mentally grinning as he felt a very male reaction beginning to form within Heero's pants. He pressed against it and the red-clad man gasped.  
  
"Ohhh Allah..." Heero gasped. "Dyad..."  
  
Duo smiled against his neck, then looked up at him and got up on his toes again, kissing his forehead this time and running a hand through his thick hair. He felt him shudder with pleasure and tried not to smirk. "I shouldn't be touching you then, I assume."  
  
"N-no..." Heero blinked, then looked down at him. "I...think...maybe I should go."  
  
Duo nodded, then kissed him gently on the lips and let him go, leaving him dizzy and blinking. "Good night, Prince Jasper."  
  
Heero sighed. "Yes..."  
  
Duo ducked into his room and was met with a smirking Gabriel.  
  
"You show HIM who boss, huh?"  
  
Duo nodded. "Yeah. Maybe he'll give me a chance now."  
  
**** ~  
  
Gene peeked in on Duo and Gabriel as soon as it was fully dark outside, finding them both to be asleep on one of the huge beds, Duo leaning his head against Gabriel's trim middle and hugging a pillow. He smiled, then glanced around the hallway, finding it all clear, and gestured into the room. A big blanket appeared over them and the curtains that led out onto the balcony closed. He smiled. //My, my,// he thought. //They look so happy...//  
  
Then, he remembered and his smile disappeared. If Duo was happy with how things were now, soon enough, he wouldn't need them anymore, and then it was back into that lamp...  
  
Gene shuddered at the thought of being trapped in the darkness of that tin prison without light, air, senses...without anything for another thousand or so years...  
  
It wasn't that he didn't like to be with Gin--that was FAR from the case-- but when the two of them were in the lamp, they were immaterial. All that could pass between them were thoughts; they could not touch, hug, kiss, or any of those other things mortals did when they were in love. Certainly, it was fine being able to think to him, but when they were there, it was like an eternity of nothingness. Unlike Gin, who was content with a dark, silent imprisonment inside of the lamp, Gene LIKED living. He LIKED tasting, seeing, touching, FEELING, if only just a little. He didn't WANT to go back so soon...but every time he tried to explain it to Gin, he didn't understand. They may have been in love, but eternity with one person made it sort of hard to talk to them.  
  
Gene shuffled heavily into their room and inspected the two separate beds, one made with green sheets and one with blue. It was apparent that Jean Claude had noted their color preferences. Gin was downstairs now, talking with the sultan about the wedding and arrangements, and the last thing he needed was his little blonde lover making things difficult for him. This is why he had decided to come up to bed; it wasn't that he was sleepy, but whenever he was around Gin in material form, he always wanted to hug him and be held by him, and that was unthinkable if they were ambassadors to a princess.  
  
He snapped his fingers and his ambassador attire transformed into his jinn uniform as he approached the green bed. He hopped into it and grabbed a pillow, hugging it to his chest and closing his eyes. "Gin..." he whispered. "Please...understand that I don't want to go back..."  
  
Suddenly, the curtains parted and in walked the person he had been thinking of. He paused and a smile crossed his lips. "What are you doing?"  
  
Gene didn't answer. He put his face in the pillow and sighed. //I can't tell him,// he thought. //He'll never understand...//  
  
"What won't I understand?"  
  
Damn it. It was that 'one mind, two bodies' thing again! He kept his mind blank and didn't say or think anything.  
  
Slowly, Gin sat on the bed and began rubbing his back, soothing his spiritual pain ever so slightly. "Gene...what's the matter? You were so happy earlier..."  
  
//He won't understand...//  
  
"You know, I can hear that."  
  
//FINE. YOU won't understand.// Gene jumped as the pillow was taken from his arms and a warm, firm, bare body took its place. He blinked, then let his eyes slowly roam up the golden chest his head lay against. "You won't, though..." he pouted.  
  
His lover smiled tolerantly at him. "Whatever it is, it can't possibly be all that bad..."  
  
Gene sighed. He would never understand, no matter what he said, and that was fine. He realized that no matter how badly he didn't want to go back, he was going to end up going back in that lamp SOMEDAY, so he might as well enjoy freedom while he could. "Gin."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Could you...make love to me?"  
  
Gin blinked. "My, that was awfully straight-forward!"  
  
He looked up at him. "Please..."  
  
Slowly, a smirk crossed his lips.  
  
**** ~  
  
"Make sound stop!" Gabriel complained, sticking his manicured fingers in his ears.  
  
Duo shuddered as another carnal moan rang out. "Ugh, I don't think they could hear me, even if I said anything!"  
  
"Oh Allah!"  
  
"Uhhhhh...yes...oh, yes..."  
  
Duo stuck his head under the pillow. "Geez, must be boring in that lamp!"  
  
"Gabriel going to be sick," the elf exclaimed, sticking his head under his own pillow.  
  
The sounds of the lecherous act going on nextdoor were still very prominent, even with both of them under a stack of pillows.  
  
"What they doing?!"  
  
"You don't wanna know, Gabe!" Duo paused as he heard yet another indescribable cry of release in another language. "Hell, I don't even think *I* wanna know!"  
  
"Uhhhhh..."  
  
"Ohhh yeah..."  
  
Then, it stopped. All sound but a heavy panting stopped, and both Gabriel and Duo sighed with relief.  
  
"It over now?" the elf squeaked, hopefully.  
  
Duo sighed. "I sure hope so--"  
  
"Aww, do you have to stop?"  
  
"Stop? Who said I've even started? That was a warm-up!"  
  
"Allah, I love you."  
  
Gabriel went cross-eyed and fainted, but Duo had no such luck as that awful noise started again, ringing out louder and more violently sickening than ever. "Oh no...it's gonna be a long night."  
  
****End of part two 


	3. Part Three

Jacked-Up Classics: Aladdin  
  
By Xandra  
  
****  
  
Two weeks flew past in a blur, and while the jinn kept together in more than (ahem) one way, Duo kept near Heero as much as he could, keeping his wandering attention by making gentle contact with him while they chatted about this and that. Duo learned that Heero had actually been without human contact for a good ten years, and excluding his own hands, he hadn't been touched at all in that time. Not even so much as a hug! That was pretty harsh by his opinion.  
  
During the days, Gabriel loitered here and there, taking a self-guided tour of the palace and attempting to avoid Jean Claude, who always managed to find him somehow anyway. Gin and Gene spoke with the sultan (when they weren't busy with each other) from time to time, keeping him occupied so as not to allow him time to spy on Duo and Heero. Their hearts were in the right place.  
  
It was now a week from Heero's birthday, and he hadn't as of yet agreed to the marriage, but he hadn't refused it either. He had to choose soon, or else he'd be sunk. They lay together in the garden near the lake where they had actually met, chatting mindlessly and staring at each other.  
  
"How can one woman be so perfect...?"  
  
Duo blushed. "Who, ME? Perfect? That's pretty funny."  
  
"No," Heero said, smiling. "I believe it with all of my being. I mean, you are gentle, understanding, witty, and beautiful. What more could you be?"  
  
That made his heart sink. //A man,// he thought. That brought up another thought. Certainly, he could play girl now, but if Heero DID marry him, he would want sex, and though Duo was sure he could make up some random excuse to deny him, he wasn't sure he wanted to. Sex was a tender thing and would take some figuring to make it work as a male, but that wasn't the least of his problems. The sultan had to have an heir, and Duo was DAMN sure he couldn't cover THAT. The only solution would be to wish that he were female for real, and even then, he might be barren, or unable to conceive because he was--or in that case had been--male. That would require the last wish...  
  
--The wish he had mentally promised to the jinn for being so good to him. They had been as good as friends, if not parents to him, helping cover for him and expending their precious magic to make sure he seemed to be what he was pretending to be. They were covering his ass for free and getting nothing in return, and if he used both the wishes selfishly...  
  
But if he didn't use them, he might not be able to stay with Heero...  
  
He had to talk to Gene. He seemed to know everything.  
  
"Dyad?"  
  
He snapped out of it. "Yes?" he asked, touching Heero's cheek.  
  
The prince didn't ask his question; he became instantly occupied with the gentle contact, nuzzling Duo's hand and sighing.  
  
Duo snickered. "You remind me of a cat that way. You LOVE being touched."  
  
"Uh...huh..."  
  
He smiled, then ran his hand up through Heero's thick mane of hair, receiving a purring sigh in response. "You are so cute when you do that."  
  
Suddenly, a blue blur appeared nearby and turned out to be the jinn he had been thinking of. He smiled down at them. "I apologize for interrupting," he said with a small smile, "But I must speak with you, Dyad."  
  
Duo shrugged. "Well?"  
  
"Ahem...in private."  
  
OH! Jinn business, probably, and Heero definitely couldn't be present for that. He nodded and kissed his prince on the forehead, then stood up and dusted himself off, adjusting his long, flowing skirt. Wearing dresses wasn't THAT uncomfortable, actually, just inconvenient. Hey, they were warmer than his usual outfit. He adjusted his ponytail, then smiled. "I'll see you at dinner, right?"  
  
Heero was visibly disappointed, but also very happy nonetheless. "Yes..."  
  
He smiled, then turned to go, but a strong hand caught his arm and he paused as he was hugged to a warm, hard surface. "Jasper..." he said, softly as if to a foolish child. "I have to go now."  
  
"Dyad, w-would you do me a favor?"  
  
Gene visibly sensed a touching moment coming on, so he quickly bowed. "I will take my leave, but please hurry along. You know where to find me, Highness. Prince Jasper." He took his leave of them, hurrying back across the bank of the river and into the palace.  
  
He turned back to Heero, who was smiling at him. "Yes?"  
  
"I...want you to marry me."  
  
He laughed, even though his heart was soaring. "We've been scheduled to be married for weeks!"  
  
"No. I mean I WANT to marry you. I want you to belong to me and only me, selfish as that is." He brought their faces close together and their eyes stayed locked. "Princess Dyad, please. I want you to promise me. Will you stay and be mine, forever?"  
  
His heart skipped a beat, but the problem of bearing children arose from his mind. Still, he wanted to be with Heero, and he wanted him happy. He actually loved him! "Of course, Jasper...of course."  
  
The prince grinned at him, then stole a quick kiss. "You had better go find your ambassador, but I'll see you at dinner."  
  
He nodded, feeling dazed, then hugged him. "All right. Until then." He blew him a kiss, beaming at the beautiful smile he received in return, then quickly skipped off into the palace, feeling light as a feather. //YES! He LOVES me!//  
  
~  
  
Heero sighed to himself, then glided into the castle. Finally. It had taken him long enough to pop the question, and Dyad had said yes! //Whew...what a relief.// He had been trying to ask her to marry him since the day she had kissed him, but his memories of Duo had remained in his way. He knew now that he couldn't have a man as a lover--it just wasn't done--and Dyad was the next best thing to the copper-haired boy, so what was wrong with it? Besides, he loved her.  
  
He passed through the main doors and sighed as he passed Razul, who was busy doing absolutely NOTHING, aside from scowling at the hallway he guarded. He paused. "Razul, I want you to do me a favor."  
  
The pale-haired man blinked. "Anything, Highness. Simply ask."  
  
He quickly got up his courage, then sighed. "I want you to find a commoner for me."  
  
"Any specific one or just a commoner?"  
  
"A specific one...named Duo. I want you to bring him to me."  
  
He jumped. "THAT little thief?! Whatever for? Do you need another whipping boy, or just a slave?"  
  
Heero didn't like the way he was acting, but he couldn't just say 'I loved him and I want to talk to him again.' It just didn't work that way. "Who are YOU to question me, Razul?"  
  
The guard blinked. "Oh, I apologize, Highness. It's just that I know the brat and he's nothing but a filthy little thief. I don't think--"  
  
"It's not your PLACE to think," Heero spat, harshly. "That would be MY job. Just get me Duo, and you hurt him, you'll pay with your hide, I swear it to Allah."  
  
Razul nodded, then quickly turned and whistled. Two other guards rushed up. "Find the street-rat Duo and bring him hear, and don't hurt him."  
  
They looked confused, but they complied. The two rushed off.  
  
"When he arrives, have him escorted to my chamber. I want to speak to him privately."  
  
Razul nodded. "Yes, Majesty."  
  
He nodded, then turned down the corridor for the courtyard. //I wonder where Zero is...probably jealous of Dyad. I HAVE been spending most of my time with her...oh well, I'm sure he'll forgive me.//  
  
Back to the topic at hand; Duo. He had to talk to him, to be assured that he didn't feel for him anymore. Besides, he wanted to see the beautiful young man again. He missed him. After all, he had been the first to open his heart again.  
  
His train of thought was immediately derailed as a bolt of heated pain ripped through him and he found himself floating in the air. "Wha--?!" He looked down into the next corridor and was immediately knocked out of the air to the floor, where he became unconscious.  
  
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a dark room, his arms bound uncomfortably above his head in shackles. //Where AM I?//  
  
A soft growling caught his attention and he looked to his right. "Zero..." The Siberian tiger was lying not feet from him, bleeding from his shoulder and looking hurt but strong. The red of his eyes was dim. "Oh, Zero...are you all right?"  
  
The tiger half-growled in response and climbed to his feet, then lumbered heavily over to him and collapsed, head landing on his lap.  
  
He sighed and leaned his head weakly against that of his friend. //What's going on?//  
  
Suddenly, the injured cat looked up and growled fiercely as a shadow moved in the darkness. The dim light emanating from the walls made it visible.  
  
Heero scowled. "Wufei...what's the meaning of this? How dare you do this to me?!"  
  
The Asian advisor laughed, then pointed his staff at the tiger, moving it away from him. "Good evening, Jasper."  
  
"Release me this instant," he barked, hauling on the chains.  
  
Wufei put the staff's crystal to his forehead and pushed him back against the wall, painfully. "You aren't in much of a position to be giving orders, ex-prince."  
  
He stared. "Ex? When my father finds out about this--"  
  
"The old man will not know," he said. "I have located a replacement for you."  
  
Heero looked up as another dark form appeared, small at first. It grew in length until it was man-height, then in mass until its silhouette matched that of any eighteen-year-old young man. It stepped into the light and looked down at him, and he looked back up, stricken as he looked into his own eyes.  
  
It was him! Impossible as it was, it was really Prince Jasper...but HE was the prince! How could this be? "How..."  
  
The form shrunk again into a small creature with braided hair, no nose and little batwings.  
  
"Din!" he exclaimed, amazed. "I thought it could only change form into small things..."  
  
"That is what I WANTED you to think, Jasper," Wufei hissed, patting Din on his head as he took Heero's form again. "Get comfy, prince, because Din here will be handling my problem of Princess Dyad, and when that street-rat arrives, I will get him as well."  
  
"You know about Duo?" Wufei nodded and he did a double take. "Don't you DARE hurt Dyad! If you touch her--"  
  
"You'll what? Command that I be arrested?" He laughed and Din cackled, shaking his head. "Funny, boy, but you haven't got that power anymore. You see, your little princess will suddenly leave without reason and you will get so depressed that you will commit suicide. Fortunately, Din will only be impersonating you until then. Then, I will take the crown and poison the old man. After that, you will be what I want you to be to me, and nothing else. You'll be lucky if your even human after I'm done with you."  
  
Heero stared. "Why are you telling me your plan?"  
  
Wufei shrugged. "You'll never leave this chamber, so it's safe, and besides," he smirked, darkly, "I'm the villain, and that's what we do when we're winning. Have a nice rest."  
  
Din smirked at him with his own face. "Have a nice night, prince." He even had his voice.  
  
He scowled. "You WON'T get away with this."  
  
Din laughed. "Watch me. All I have to do is this," he cleared his throat. " 'Oh Dyad, I want to talk to you. Would you mind coming to my room?' After that..." he waved his hand and the knife of his hand grew and darkened until it was a knife, separate from the rest of the body. He waved it and cackled. "You're little princess with be a stuffed wall-mount!"  
  
"No! You can't do that!"  
  
"Why are you bothering to say that, anyway?"  
  
Wufei smirked at Din. "He's the victim; it's his job, remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah..." Din saluted to him smirking. "Later, dude. Off to screw and kill your princess."  
  
Heero thrashed violently, willing the chains to break and allow him a crack at his impersonator, but he couldn't get free. It was hopeless. As the sorcerer and imp left him in the tower alone with Zero, he gave up and fell back against the stone wall, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Dyad...no, please, if anyone can hear me, don't let him hurt her..."  
  
~  
  
Duo hurried up the stairs intent on his room, but was forced to pause, as there were two people in the hall already, talking animatedly. He grinned at the sight.  
  
Jean Claude had finally caught Gabe alone and had forced him into conversation, and the green-eyed human elf seemed to be having a great time. His words and sentence structure had improved greatly in the last few weeks, though he still spoke without most verbs and other parts of speech. He was much more fluent now, and his missing words were forgivable. What was better than that? Gabriel was laughing, and he wasn't trying to escape the handsome young servant.  
  
Duo didn't want to break up the adorable scene, but he had to talk to Gene, and Gabriel too about what had just happened. He had taken to gossiping with him about everything. "I hate to interrupt," he began.  
  
Gabriel looked up and smiled. "Good morning!"  
  
Jean Claude bowed. "Greetings, princess. I apologize for taking up you maid's time, but I find myself somewhat smitten with her. I can't help myself--I hope you can forgive me."  
  
"Of course, Jean. Not a problem. Just don't go snatching her too often, or I might just make you marry her."  
  
Gabriel blushed and smacked his hands over his face. "Princess!" he bawled, embarrassed.  
  
Jean Claude smiled. "Please, tempt me not, Highness." He took Gabriel's hand and kissed it. "Until tonight, Gabriella." He bowed to Duo, then strolled away, grinning proudly.  
  
The moment he was out of hearing range, Duo grabbed Gabriel, who was openly blushing and smiling. "You LIKE him, don't you?!"  
  
The elf shook his head. "No! I can't like Jean Claude. Gabriel is a male, therefore he cannot love him."  
  
Duo smirked. "Oh, now we say LOVE? I asked if you like him and you say LOVE?"  
  
Gabe sighed and turned a deeper shade of red. "Oh, shut up!"  
  
He cackled, mercilessly, and carted him into the jinn's room, where they were sitting on their beds, silently. "You two hear the news? Gabe here has a CRUSH on that cute servant with the blonde hair, Jean Claude! Just busted him talkin' to him!"  
  
Gene smiled, briefly, and Gin didn't bother. He was carving something from a block of wood, completely oblivious.  
  
"And to think, this is Mr. 'I can't love male.'" Then, he noticed the odd silence and separation of the jinn. They weren't hugging or talking, simply sitting apart, Gene looking hurt and Gin looking almost angry. "I'm missing something here."  
  
Gene stood and approached, smiling limply. "You have news for us, Master?"  
  
"Do I ever! He proposed! I love it!" Duo hugged the blonde-haired jinn, who failed to respond. He paused again. "What's wrong, Gene?"  
  
He shook his head. "Nothing..."  
  
"Lying, now?" Gin spat, harshly. "That's wonderful."  
  
Duo looked at him. "Lay off, Gin. You are WAY too mean to him sometimes, I mean it."  
  
Gin set his whittling down and bowed in an exaggerated fashion. "Yes, of COURSE, Master. Whatever you say. I so DEEPLY apologize." He scoffed. "Oh, please."  
  
Gabriel blinked. "Gin strangely mean today..."  
  
"Oh, you THINK?" Gin spat. "Go play with your little servant."  
  
Gabriel blushed and covered his mouth. "What your problem? I not do anything to you, and Duo not either."  
  
"Learn how to talk, you impetuous little sprite."  
  
The elf looked stricken. He didn't say anything, but he was very apparently embarrassed, and Duo knew why. No one had ever teased the way he spoke before.  
  
"Gin, please, I think--"  
  
"Oh, wow, THAT'S new."  
  
Gene looked horrified and scared, but he didn't say anything. He kept his mouth shut, and silver streaks of liquid ran down his cheeks. Gabriel immediately hugged him.  
  
Duo snarled at the cruel jinn. "Look, Gin, you had better back the hell off and take some Midol, because none of us need you picking on us."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Goddamn it, LISTEN to me!"  
  
Gin raised an eyebrow. "OH? Listen to the little boy pretending to be a girl? Listen to the boy who has no idea how the world really is?"  
  
Duo stepped back as if he'd been hit. Gin was hitting below the belt with that. Something was really wrong with him.  
  
"Look, Kid," the green-clad, banged jinn hissed, "I have more knowledge in my pinkie than you have in your entire brain and it will always be that way. By the rules, I have to grant you wishes, but that doesn't mean I have to listen to you. You can kiss my thirty-five-hundred-year-old-ASS, brat."  
  
"Gin, please," Gene begged, turning to him.  
  
"Quit whining at me and be silent!"  
  
That did it. The blonde jinn burst into tears and fell to the floor, holding himself.  
  
Gabriel went to him immediately and hugged him, then leered up at Gin. "YOU are cruel. You are BAD spirit pretending to be good and hurting Gene. You go back where you come from, genie."  
  
Gin growled. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"  
  
Gabriel raised a hand and his palm lit up, but Gin just laughed.  
  
"Try your stupid little tricks, elf, and I'll eat your magic like candy. I have more power than you could ever imagine, and your little coincidence magic couldn't do a damn thing to me."  
  
Duo growled and cocked himself to launch at the cocky entity, but Gabriel shook his head and disappeared with a little poof. Seconds later, he was standing behind Gin, holding the lamp. //That's right! I forgot he can steal when someone is wrong!//  
  
"You little..."  
  
Gabriel held up the lamp and pointed. "I have the lamp, you do as I tell you. Inside, NOW, and don't come out."  
  
Gin growled, then turned and looked at Gene. "Come here."  
  
Duo grabbed him before he could move. "You can't make him do anything."  
  
Gin leered at him, then looked back at the blonde spirit. "Come with me NOW, Gene."  
  
Slowly, his blue eyes fluttered open and his eyebrows knit together. "No."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"I told you I don't want to go back, Gin," he said, softly, glaring at him. "I told you I don't want to go back in that little thing ever again. I told you we should be nice and try to please Duo so he would free us, because I can't stand another century in there...I told you that you wouldn't understand, but you kept pushing, and when I explained, you got angry. Always my fault, ALWAYS Gene's fault no matter what the case! You use me as a cushion to play with then you toss me around like I don't matter, and I'm sick of it, Gin! After a few centuries, IT GETS OLD! I'm sick of being your punching bag and your slut."  
  
Gin's eyes lit up and Gene shuddered in Duo's arms.  
  
"What are you doing to him?!" the brunette boy snapped.  
  
"He's trying to convince me to come with him," Gene said. "When his eyes light up, it means he's using his telepathy and he's trying to undermine you to get to me mentally."  
  
Gin growled, then stomped his foot, making the room shudder. "Fine! Fine then, Gene, you want to be out here, then you can be out here. Without me."  
  
Gene's reserve crumbled and his eyes widened. "WHAT?"  
  
Gin snapped and immediately became green vapor and flowed back into the lamp through the spout..  
  
Duo found his arms empty seconds later. The blonde genie snatched the lamp from Gabriel and shook it. "You can't DO this to me!" he exclaimed. "No, please, Gin!"  
  
"What happened?" Duo asked.  
  
Gene hugged the lamp to his bare chest. "Please, Gin, don't do this...this is cruel, please don't push me away like this..."  
  
There came no answer.  
  
He burst into tears again and held the lamp in his hands. "Gin, I know you can hear me, please come out and talk to me!"  
  
Once again, no answer.  
  
Gene growled, then stood up and shook it hard. "Damn it, come out! Come out!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
Duo and Gabriel exchanged glances, then jumped as Gene yelled into the spout, angrily.  
  
"FINE! *BE *AN ASS AND TAKE THIS!" He hauled back and threw the lamp flat at the ground with a loud clang that resounded. Then, he fell on the bed and cried out.  
  
Duo went to him. "Gene! Gene, are you okay?!"  
  
"Oh Allah," he gasped. "Oh, that was stupid..."  
  
Gabriel picked up the dented lamp, but quickly set it down as it began to shake. "Uh-oh."  
  
Uh-oh was right. Duo had a bad feeling. If hurting the lamp hurt the jinn, then Gin must have been in a hell of a lot of pain after that. The magic binding them to it combined with the fact that he was INSIDE it probably made it worse.  
  
There was a blast of blinding light and when it cleared, Gin was standing there, but only for a moment. He fell to the floor, his hair mussed, his outfit torn, his chest bleeding.  
  
Wait, jinn weren't supposed to bleed!  
  
Gene slowly, shyly got up and went to him, but the moment he got close, Gin's eyes opened. They were red. "G-Gin...I-I-I..."  
  
"NO," Gin said. His voice was outer-worldly with an odd echo and two pitches. He looked furious as he floated into the air, leering down at Gene, who cowered before him. Duo and Gabriel didn't even come close. "YOU HURT ME. YOU HURT ME ON PURPOSE."  
  
"No, Gin, please...I didn't mean--"  
  
"YES YOU DID. YOU WANTED ME TO HURT, OR YOU WOULD NOT HAVE DONE IT, AND NOW I HURT, AND SO TOO WILL YOU. STAY IN YOUR LITTLE MORTAL WORLD FOR AS LONG AS YOU LAST BECAUSE I AM SICK OF TAKING CARE OF YOU. YOU LIKE IT OUT HERE? FINE. CERTAINLY, YOU CAN STAY OUT HERE--FOREVER!"  
  
"No!" Gene cried, trying to stand. Gin pointed to him and he hit the floor, hard. "Please, Gin, no, you can't do this to me, please..."  
  
Gin disappeared in a bright flash of fire and seconds later, a green plug appeared in it with the little black markings on it, the zigzag line between two parallels, in the spout of the lamp. That was all.  
  
Then, the blonde was crying. He tried to touch the lamp but a green bolt of electricity met his hand and he cried out.  
  
"Gene...?" Duo asked, softly.  
  
"He locked me out," the blonde whimpered. "I can't get into the lamp now...he's completely disowned me..."  
  
Duo slowly hugged him. "Come on, I'm sure he'll get over it sometime...besides, at least this way you can be out here for as long as you want."  
  
"You don't understand!"  
  
"Can't you find another jinn to bunk with?"  
  
Gene's hair spiked out as if he had just been hit and he pushed Duo away, then turned to him. "You don't understand," he repeated, "There IS no one else. Gin and I are linked heart and soul, and when we are apart, I will weaken until I fade away. A captured jinn without their lamp dies in due time, but a jinn linked to another outside their lamp dies quickly. Gin has sentenced me to death."  
  
Duo stared as Gene slowly got up and sat on his bed, burying his face in his knees. "Oh, Gene...I didn't know..."  
  
"It's too late now," he whispered. "Unless he takes the hex off and lets me back inside, I will die, and he will not take the hex off. An angered jinn is the most dangerous thing in existence, and I hurt him badly enough to cripple him had I been stronger. He will never forgive me, not even if I killed myself to make him."  
  
Duo grabbed the lamp and tried to yank the plug out, but it didn't come. "Gin! Come outta there! You can't let him die! You're supposed to love him, damn it! COME OUT HERE!"  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Gene slowly crunched up on the bed and lay still, refusing to even breathe (though he didn't need to anyway). "I'm alone again..."  
  
Gabriel held the little jinn while Duo beat the lamp with his fist. "Damn it, COME OUT HERE!"  
  
"Rub lamp, Duo," the elf sighed.  
  
Oh, that was right. He had to come out of he rubbed it. He quickly did so.  
  
The plug popped and Gin appeared in his normal guise, spiky brown hair, shining green eyes and jade uniform with golden skin, but something was wrong. His eyes were glazed as his expression was set as that of a statue. "What do you wish of me," he asked flatly.  
  
Duo waved a hand in front of his face, then looked at Gene, who was crunched into a ball in Gabe's lap. "Gin?"  
  
"Yes, Master."  
  
Something was up, all right. He quickly thought up a plan. "I wish for you to forgive Gene."  
  
"That wish is ungrantable." With a poof of green smoke, he was gone again.  
  
Gene was still and silent, crunched up and not moving as if Gin hadn't appeared. He had gone into his own little world, and Gin hadn't looked at him.  
  
Duo bit his lip. "I don't like this."  
  
"This is bad," Gabriel agreed. "Gene die and Gin doesn't care. Something has to be done, Duo..."  
  
He nodded, then looked at the plug in the lamp. "I can't wish him to forgive him because he can't change his own heart with magic, It's sort of like that no love rule...but what can I do?"  
  
~  
  
Din grinned. //So the kid has the genie, eh? Xhen-Phi will love this...but I have to get him away from that lamp, and the ambassador and servant-girl too...//  
  
He stepped away from the door and morphed into the sultan, then stepped back down the stairs and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Princess! I need to speak with you!"  
  
~  
  
Duo looked up. "Oh no, it's the sultan..."  
  
Gabriel shook Gene. "He not moving..."  
  
"Yes, Highness?" Duo called.  
  
"I need to speak with you and your ambassadors about the wedding! Please come down at once!"  
  
Duo sighed and quickly adjusted his outfit, then looked at Gabriel, who was shaking Gene. "Gene, I..." he didn't want to use a wish, but he had no choice. "I wish for you to act like nothing is wrong and play ambassador like before."  
  
Gene looked at him and nodded. "I have only enough power to grant that wish, and then I have nothing, because Gin is my power." He snapped and he was immediately garbed in his uniform, standing upright and smiling. "Well, let's not keep the sultan waiting."  
  
It was pitiful, but it worked. "Be back in a minute, Gabe. Just chill here for a while. Come on, Gene." He grabbed the jinn's arm and shoved him out the door and down the hall toward the stairs. //Only one wish left...//  
  
~  
  
Din smirked as the princess and ambassador passed, then quickly zipped into the room, only to come face to face with the gold-clad maid. He squeaked as her eyes hit him.  
  
"Imp!" she exclaimed, jumping up.  
  
Then, he smelled it. That icy smell that was like wintergreen and peppermint...that was the elf! "YOU!" he cried, amazed. "How did you get so big?!"  
  
The elf grabbed a book and lifted it above his--or her?--head and growled fiercely. "I'll squish you, imp!" she spat.  
  
His eyes hit the lamp and he swooped around her and landed, abruptly growing to be bigger than her. He became himself in mortal form and made his wings disappear, then grabbed her by her wrists and took the book away. "Try squishing something that's bigger than you, elf."  
  
She kicked at him, but he dodged her feet.  
  
"You're that fate elf, aren't you?"  
  
"Get away from me before I--"  
  
Din realized what that meant. If this was Gabriel the elf, then Dyad was really that street-rat Duo in a dress or maybe changed by a wish. "Oh-ho! Xhen-Phi is gonna LOVE me for this!"  
  
The elf's hands lit up, but he quickly shoved him away onto the bed, then turned his fist into a giant rubber mallet. The elf stared, gasping.  
  
"Say night-night!" He brought his fist down, but the human-sized elf disappeared. "Wha?"  
  
THUNK!  
  
He hit the bed on his face, the back of his head aching. "Oh, shit..."  
  
Gabriel stripped off the dress, revealing that he was male by stripping down to his original tights and rag-shirt. "Now you fight me, imp," he spat.  
  
Din got up and quickly changed form before Gabriel could get at him, turning into a mallet himself. "Time to play Whack-a-Sprite!"  
  
"ELF!" his hands lit up and he took a swing at him, but not quick enough. The mallet came down on him and he was unconscious in seconds.  
  
Din morphed to match the servant with blonde hair, then picked up Gabriel and dropped him on the bed. He grabbed the lamp and looked at it, then laughed. "Piece of cake. NOW all I have to do is get this back to Xhen-Phi. OOOH! He'll be so pleased!" he quickly hurried off down the hall and to the wall panel, which he opened and ducked into.  
  
He found Xhen-Phi in his lab. "Master!" he exclaimed as he changed back to himself again.  
  
Xhen-Phi looked at him. "Idiot, what have you--" he cut off. "The lamp! You blessed little monster, you have the lamp!"  
  
Din nodded. "Yes, Master! Princess Dyad is that street-rat in a dress and the elf I smelled, it was HIS elf, Gabriel! He had him cross-dressed too! The genie was out the entire time, posing as the ambassador in green! That was HIM! I don't know who the blue one is, but here it is!"  
  
Xhen-Phi snatched the lamp and patted him on his head. "You are definitely useful."  
  
He beamed. //Yes! Recognition!// "Thanks, sir."  
  
The sorcerer waved his staff and a pair of shackles made of purple light appeared near the floor, and another pair about waist-height to a normal person. "Now, for the Alpha Jinn." He rubbed the lamp.  
  
With a plume of green smoke, a man that resembled the elf Gabriel appeared in the light shackles, looking curious. His eyes hit Xhen-Phi. "Um...I'm going to assume this is a bad thing."  
  
Xhen-Phi laughed. "Yes, jinn, it is." He reached out and took his chin in hand, holding it firmly. "You are now my slave for as long as I will it."  
  
"I'm afraid the rules only allow me to--"  
  
The Asian man sighed and rotated the staff, and a cord of light appeared right between the top shackles, looping through the clasps and creating a chain that ended in his hand. He pulled it and the jinn gasped, falling to the floor. "I'm afraid your rules no longer apply, Alpha."  
  
Din laughed. "I thought he'd be bigger. Ya know, b'cause he's all powerful and stuff."  
  
The jinn didn't say anything.  
  
Xhen-Phi kicked him and he grunted. "What do you say, SLAVE?"  
  
"Your...your wish is my command...."  
  
He smirked, then yanked the chain, forcing him to his feet with a groan of pain. "I know."  
  
**** ~  
  
"Funny, I wonder where the sultan got to..." Duo muttered as he and Gene returned to the room. They both paused as they entered the room and looked around. "What?"  
  
Gabriel was splattered on the bed and something was wrong.  
  
Gene stepped forward and looked around. "Oh my," he said, dully. "The lamp is gone."  
  
"WHAT?!" Duo exclaimed. He shoved him aside and looked at the floor. It was indeed gone. He went quickly to Gabriel and reached out to shake him, then paused as he realized he wasn't dressed as a female anymore. "Oh no, GABE!"  
  
He had a huge bump forming on his head and his clothing was more thrashed than before. He looked terrible.  
  
"Oh no...Gene," he turned to him. "Can you get it back?!"  
  
"No, since I have been locked out I cannot go back and find out what happened, nor can I take it." He shrugged, indifferently, his tone optimistic. "I am still doomed and now someone has Gin."  
  
Duo grabbed him by the shoulders. "How can you NOT care?"  
  
"It was your wish."  
  
He paused. It was. He had wished that Gene would act as if nothing was wrong, not that he wasn't hurt. He was acting as if nothing was wrong with the world at all, and now he had no power left to undo it. Besides, if he granted the last wish, that would probably mean he had to go back to the lamp, and he couldn't do that because of Gin's hex. He would fade out. "We have to find the lamp and Gin..."  
  
Gabriel shifted and rolled over, grunting and holding his head. "Ohhh..."  
  
"Gabe? You all right?"  
  
He sat up and held his head, then looked at Duo. It took him a moment, but he spoke. "Imp..."  
  
Gene nodded. "Oh, I see. That imp that the advisor uses as a pet stole the lamp."  
  
"Lamp? Lamp is gone?" Gabriel looked over at the floor and jumped up. "Oh no!" He got up and threw his maid outfit on again. "Lamp is gone!"  
  
Duo smacked a hand to his head. "That sorcerer has the damn lamp, and Gin! Fuck, we have to get it back."  
  
"Oh well." Gene sat down on the bed and folded his legs.  
  
Duo growled. "Gene, you don't understand! That guy is the guy that got me and Gabriel trapped in the Cave of Wonders! When we let you out, we were trapped, remember? It was HIS fault, because he wanted the lamp and no witnesses! He tried to kill us, and now that he has the lamp, he probably already knows who we are!"  
  
Suddenly, the floor began to shake and Duo and Gabriel were pitched to it. The sky outside darkened and the roof up around the top of the room began to crack all the way around.  
  
"What's happening?!" Duo cried.  
  
Gene sat still on the bed, legs folded and eyes wide with curiosity. He was out of it. "I sense my other half nearby..."  
  
It was Gin! The sorcerer had Gin's magic at his disposal!  
  
The roof flew off and a looming shadow pointed to them, levitating them from the ground into the air, Gene included. All of them zipped into the burning sky and were brought before two hovering figures, both floating before a giant figure. It was Gin, and he looked pissed. He was fifty or so feet tall and sporting purple bangles on his feet and wrist, his eyes glowing green as the palace blew apart. Floating nearby were Heero, Zero and Jean Claude. The other servants, the sultan and the guards were no where to be found.  
  
"Gene!" Duo called to the other jinn, who was mindlessly staring around. "Talk to Gin! Make him stop it!"  
  
"I can't," he said, shrugging. "He is under the control of the owner of the lamp, our new master. I can do nothing. Besides, he's still angry at me."  
  
Heero looked at them. "Dyad!"  
  
"Jasper! Are you okay?!"  
  
He nodded. "About as okay as I can get for being in chains! What's going on?!"  
  
Jean Claude looked up at Gin. "I think we're about to find out, Highness!"  
  
Gin held out his hand to the floating group, revealing the advisor and the imp standing there, the imp full-sized and looking like a demon and the sorcerer looking like a devil lord.  
  
"So!" Wufei cackled. "We meet again, street-rat! Let's see how your lover likes you now!"  
  
Duo growled. "Leave him out of this!"  
  
"Oh no, I think I won't. Prince Jasper, allow me to introduce you to Princess Dyad, or should I say..." he pointed the staff at Duo and his dress changed to his rags and his hair came down and braided itself. His make-up disappeared. "Duo Maxwell."  
  
Heero stared. "Duo...you LIED to me..."  
  
"Heero, I'm sorry--"  
  
"Since we're ALL coming out of the closet..." Wufei scoffed and zapped Gabriel too, shrinking him down and making him visibly what he was, an elf.  
  
Jean Claude looked amazed, but he said nothing.  
  
Din laughed. "How you like 'em now, boys?!"  
  
Heero kept his mouth shut and looked away from Duo, but Jean Claude spoke. "Sorcery...it's not true!"  
  
"Is too true," Gabriel said, flatly. "Lied. Used jinn to lie." He sighed, looking up at Jean Claude, who was staring. "I sorry."  
  
Before he could say anything, Wufei floated from Gin's palm with Din at his side. "Adorable, really," he said. "But I'm afraid I can't have meddlers in my way. Say farewell." He waved the staff and the crystal lit up red. "Alpha, I wish for these annoying creatures to be sent to the furthest corner of the desert."  
  
"Gene! Tell him not to listen!"  
  
"I can't, Duo."  
  
Gin's glowing eyes brightened and a crystal appeared around them--green, of course. He grabbed it and looked at them inside. "I'm sorry."  
  
"GIN! DON'T DO IT!" Duo cried. "YOU'LL KILL US!"  
  
"Now, Alpha!" Wufei spat.  
  
He sighed. "His wish is my command. I can do nothing else." He hauled back and pitched the globe.  
  
Duo, little Gabriel and Gene were stuck to the wall of it as it soared through the sky. "Damn it Gene!" Duo bawled over the noise of the air around them. "You could have helped!"  
  
"You wished for this, not me," he said with a shrug.  
  
//Damn me. Damn me, damn me, damn me!// "DO SOMETHING! PLEASE, OR WE'LL DIE!!!"  
  
"Why should I care? I am going to die anyway, so I might as well die now."  
  
"But WE'LL DIE TOO!"  
  
"Ah, well."  
  
"GENE!"  
  
He shrugged. "Very well." He waved his hand as the ground came quickly toward them and another sphere encircled them, protecting them as it shattered. "You know, you would not have died, because the jinn cannot kill," he said as he levitated the light sphere to the ground and making it disappear.  
  
Duo smacked a hand to his forehead. "Allah spare me..."  
  
Gabriel perched himself on the braided boy's shoulder. "I feel bad," he sighed.  
  
"You really DID like Jean Claude, didn't you?"  
  
The elf nodded. "Now he knows, now he hate Gabriel."  
  
Duo sighed, sitting down in the sand. "Yeah, tell me about it."  
  
While they both sulked, Gene walked slowly around, looking slowly at the ruins of some ancient temple they had landed near. "Hmm, that's interesting."  
  
"What now, Gene."  
  
"Well, you see, this is Auc'dékrasha."  
  
Duo looked up at the ruins. "Auc-what?"  
  
Gene shrugged. "The temple of the Jinn'rasha. They were people that worshipped us like gods and portrayed us as good spirits instead of evil, as some of us are. They believed that if one found a lamp and set the jinn free, they would go to nirvana, the highest heaven, which is why some of our people are free, but not many. Some people were too greedy to want to go to nirvana, so they used their wishes and persecuted the jinn for more. This caused a war that ended in much human bloodshed, because the jinn struck back and killed those who tried to use them. The higher jinn knew this was not acceptable, and this is why they established the rule of no killing and the rule of three wishes, and they made it understood that people could ask for no more. That way, we were protected from persecution and the mortals were protected from us."  
  
Duo stood up and dusted himself off. "I'd be interested if I wasn't so selfish as to be worried about how we'll get back and save our home and our lovers. I mean, Allah knows what he'll do to Heero, Jean Claude is as good as dead and Gin is under Wufei's power. The way he was flaunting him, you'd think he had infinite wishes."  
  
"He does. He used the counter-spell to the spell put on jinn that allowed them to grant three wishes and be gone. He is completely helpless and Xhen- Phi will use him until we both perish from exhaustion of magic."  
  
Gabriel flew to Gene's shoulder. "How you know?"  
  
"We are of one mind. Everything Xhen-Phi does to him, I know about. I am already in pain from being kicked out of the lamp, but now I feel his agony of being used as a tool of mass destruction. Xhen-Phi has already made four wishes, and that is painful." He shrugged.  
  
"Who's Xhen-Phi."  
  
"That is Wufei's real name."  
  
"If he drains him, you'll die and so will he."  
  
"No matter, we will die and be together in our own heaven. I can wait."  
  
Duo sighed, then took Gene by his shoulders and looked at him as Gabe landed on his head. "You can't mean that..."  
  
He shrugged. "I do."  
  
The brunette sighed and smacked a hand against his forehead. "Oh, I wish I woulda never made that wish!"  
  
There was a flash and he blinked, looking up. Gene was garbed in his jinn uniform, his markings completely visible and a real smile in place. "Wish refunded."  
  
He jumped. "You care now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I thought wishes weren't refundable!"  
  
"That would be a Gin rule, not a JINN rule. It's not liked, but nice beings understand that mortals make mistakes, and I just happen to be very nice." He smiled.  
  
Duo grinned and hugged him. "Thank Allah for that!"  
  
"DUO!" Gabriel exclaimed. "Hug later, save NOW!"  
  
That was right! "Gene, you know what's going on, right?"  
  
He nodded. "Of course! I mean, I may have been unconcerned, but that doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention."  
  
"Then we have to save the prince and Jean Claude, and find some way to get your lamp from Wufei--err, Xhen-Phi."  
  
Gene shook his head. "I told you, Duo I haven't got much power left, and if Gin is used to violently, soon HE'LL Be powerless too and we'll both die."  
  
"But we have to do SOMETHING!" he exclaimed.  
  
The blonde being smiled. "THAT we will do. Come with me." He turned toward the temple. "I have a feeling Gin sent us here for a reason. I can sense it."  
  
Curious, Gabriel and Duo exchanged glances, then followed him.  
  
~  
  
Gin looked up as the prince cried out again, then back down at his feet again.  
  
"Zero!"  
  
The tiger was not a kitten, rolling around childishly on the floor nearby. He stumbled over to Gin and landed on his leg. "Mew?"  
  
He would have smiled had he not felt so bad, physically and spiritually.  
  
Jasper leapt at Xhen-Phi, dragging on his restraints, but they didn't give. Of COURSE not--they were enchanted. "You BASTARD! You'll pay for this, I swear it!"  
  
Gin looked up, sensing a wish coming on. He had known since the moment he laid eyes upon the so-called advisor that he had plans of some sort, but he had hoped to foil them before this happened. Actually, he hadn't really EXPECTED to get in a fight with Gene and become a prisoner, but hey, what happened, happened no matter what anyone said. Too bad.  
  
A ripping pain developed in his ribs and he flew to his feet involuntarily, the magical chains on his body scalding at his solid flesh. "I have a wish."  
  
//Of course you do, you selfish son-of-a--// "Yes, Master."  
  
"I wish for Jasper to be a woman."  
  
//Well, THAT'S one I've never heard.// That surprised him dully, but his shock was nothing in comparison to that of the prince.  
  
"WHAT?! You SICK CREATURE!"  
  
Gin nodded and snapped and Jasper hit the floor. His body softened and shrunk and in seconds, he was no longer a HE.  
  
Jasper gasped and stopped thrashing, then clung to her vest in an attempt to cover the new cleavage. Xhen-Phi laughed. "Well, well," he said. "I guess we're going to have to rename you JASMINE."  
  
"Bastard," she hissed, angrily.  
  
Gin gasped as the chains pulled again, sparking horrible pain in his neck and spine. "Yes, Master," he muttered, miserably.  
  
"Now that I have my QUEEN..." Jasper immediately froze up and paled and he smirked. "Hmm...rebuild the palace to my liking."  
  
Gin nodded, weakly. His powers were much too weak from all the wishes. Xhen- Phi KNEW he was killing him this way, but he didn't care. With all the power he had now, he could grant his own, but he was so sick that he liked watching someone else die to give him what he wanted instead of doing it himself. "Your wish is my command..." He closed his eyes and concentrated on the palace, which abruptly began to heal and change around him. He knew that soon enough he would die, and that it was his own fault because he had hurt Gene and thrown a fit because he had been wrong. Now he understood why Gene had wanted out of the lamp so badly. He wanted freedom just as much as Gin himself did, and yet he had not understood, just as he had been told he would not. He had exploded like an infant jinn in a snit at him and sentenced him to death because he was grouchy, and now he would never see him again, thanks to his own ego.  
  
//Had I the chance I would go back and change it...I would beg for mercy and tell him I agreed...I'll miss his comforting while I burn in Hades.//  
  
~  
  
"I've been wondering," Duo started as they passed down the old hall of the temple. "Gin wouldn't tell me, so maybe you will...how did you two meet?"  
  
"It was a wish," Gene said. "Or more correctly two wishes. I was in the service of a young poor woman in Ethiopia that merely wanted a way to take care of her family and her bills, and I gave it to her, so she had no need of me, but she understood that I was miserable alone and that I hated my lamp. By coincidence, Gin was in the service of the young son of a Native American chief. He too was alone and unhappy. He has told me that the boy didn't make his last wish because he liked having Gin for a friend, but he could see that he was unhappy, so he explained to him a belief their people had. They believed that every being had a soul-mate, and that soul-mate might come in any form, be it animal, spirit or either gender, meant for love, friendship or alliance."  
  
Duo nodded. "So THAT'S why he's got that whole soul-mate kick!"  
  
"Yes. After explaining and asking if Gin knew or had met his soul-mate, he made his final wish. He wished that Gin could have his soul-mate with him. At that exact instant, the girl I worked for asked me if I was lonely and wanted to be with another jinn, perhaps. I told her yes and she used her final wish, wishing that I could be with the one I was destined to love. Perfect coincidence. My lamp and I were immediately sent to Gin and his, and mine melted away, leaving me to be with him. Ever since then, we were inseparable...until now." He paused and gestured, and a slab of stone the size of a whale flew out of the way with a blue flash. That led them into a chamber with many scrolls on the floor and shelves. "Here. I sense we need to be here."  
  
"In an ancient LIBRARY?" Gene nodded and Duo frowned. "Why? How is reading going to help us save the others?"  
  
He shrugged, then entered the room and went to the table therein, where a scroll was open and lying abandoned. He leaned over it and raised a finger, sparking all the candles in the room to life, then picked it up. "The Alpha Jinn."  
  
"What?"  
  
He held up the scroll. "An old legend. I think this may be important."  
  
Duo stared at the scroll over Gene's shoulder as he read it out-loud. He couldn't read too well, but he was glad the jinn could.  
  
" 'The Alpha Jinn, the most powerful being ever created, was made by mistake of the Higher Jinn. Made to be a servant to man, it instead became a menace to the cosmos, for its power was so great that it had the ability to break the rules of the jinn-to grant millions of wishes or none at all, to force hatred and love upon friends and enemies, to resurrect the dead and gone and to mercilessly slaughter at leisure. Finally, left without a choice beyond destruction of it-which was impossible--the Higher Jinn instead split the dark one into two separate jinn, equally powerful and possessing an aspect of their former self. One was to become compassionate, humane and good, protector of the innocent and peacemaker to the warriors, and the other was to be strong, intelligent and unforgiving, to be the advisor of kings and destroyer of evil.  
  
"The Higher Jinn's plan to abolish the Alpha Jinn was flawed. If the two separate jinn, of one mind and two bodies, were united in pure passion and love, the Alpha would arise from the ashes of their fiery passion and once again become all powerful, controlled only by the one who bears its lamp.' "  
  
Duo blinked. "Whoa...cool story."  
  
Gene nodded. "Yes, I remember this from my training when I was first crafted. It's an old one..." He set the scroll down, then reached for one nearby, unrolling it. He froze up. "...Look here..."  
  
The brunette looked and was shocked. It was a hand-drawn sketch of the supposed 'Alpha Jinn', but it pictured the last being he had expected to see. At first, he thought it was Gin, because it had a face, form and even hair just like his, but as he looked closer, he noticed differences. It was a gigantic being, at least a hundred feet tall, with wavy hair down by its shoulders and eyes full of knowledge. It had a sheet of sloping bangs just like Gin's, and double markings under both eyes, stacked on top of each other, and a silver freckle on both temples. It wasn't Gin...it was both of them.  
  
Gabriel leapt at the picture. "Oh no! Sorcerer thinks Gin is Alpha Jinn!"  
  
Gene nodded. "He called him Alpha...he thinks he's the all-powerful...he must not have seen the other half of this document, or else he would know we had to be together..."  
  
Duo looked at the legend, then up at the blonde entity. "It says that in order to be the Alpha Jinn, you have to be caught up in passion or something? You guys have sex often enough to summon it! Why aren't you two merged already?"  
  
"Sex is not passion to the jinn, as it is to human beings, because we scarcely feel. It is merely exciting entertainment." He shook his head. "It has to be closer than that, more intimate than that. Passion and ardor between the jinn is difficult to come by, but it is possible..."  
  
Gabriel landed on his shoulder. "AHEM!" he exclaimed. "Gin, prince and Jean Claude in trouble still! We have to get back now! We need save them now!"  
  
Gene nodded, his features setting into an expression of dead concentration. "Quite right." He set the scrolls down and cracked his knuckles. "It's been centuries since I've operated on my own without Gin, and that sorcerer is draining both of us through him, but I'm sure I can do it." He closed his eyes and wrung his hands. "For Gin."  
  
Duo grabbed Gabriel and stuck him in the pocket of his pants, then grabbed Gene's arm. "Hold on, Gabe! I have a feeling this is gonna be a blast!"  
  
The elf nodded and clutched the hem of his pocket as Gene began to mutter in another language. Sparkles of blue and silver began to shoot off his fingertips. "Right you are, Master! NO BODY kidnaps MY lover, kicks me out and gets away with it! I'm JINN, damn it, weak though I may be I outclass ANY mortal!" He stretched and lifted his hands, then snapped and touched the ground.  
  
At first, nothing happened, but that didn't last long. The ground shuddered and flowered vines shot from it, wrapping around and weaving through each other as they rose. After a short while, a beautifully-made mat lay beneath their feet.  
  
Duo blinked and Gabriel stared. "A carpet?" the elf asked.  
  
Gene smirked, then clapped twice and threw his thumbs skyward. "Up!" There was a bark and it flew into the air, knocking Duo off his feet. Gene sat down gracefully and folded his legs in one fluid movement. "A FLYING carpet!"  
  
"It barked!" Gabriel squeaked. "Why does rug bark?!"  
  
"Wolfsbane vines, my dear Gabriel! Nothing better for tracking than a wolf." Gene pointed back the way they had come. "Back to the palace!"  
  
Duo grabbed onto the jinn as the carpet zipped off through the air. "YEAH!" he cheered. "We're comin', guys, just you wait!  
  
****End of part three 


	4. Part Four

Jacked-Up Classics: Aladdin  
  
By Xandra  
  
****  
  
Duo's eyes widened as a dark shadow loomed on the horizon against the blood- red sky. It was a new palace, like the other but with black turrets and steeples capped with gold. It was colossal!  
  
"Xhen-Phi has apparently decided that the throne is his to take, now that the sultan is gone," Gene muttered. "I sense my love within, and I sense his pain. That monster will PAY for hurting him."  
  
Indeed so!  
  
They hovered close to the balcony outside the throne-room and peeked in over the railing, watching the occurrences within.  
  
The chamber room had been lined with statues of the guards cast in stone-- or more correctly, petrified guards lined the walls. They were all frozen with horrified looks on their faces, and one of them was missing an arm, namely Razul, and some of his hair had been separated from his body as well.  
  
Xhen-Phi was seated on a huge onyx throne at the head of it, spinning his staff idly and observing with amusement as Jean Claude dodged and ducked a giant demonic creature with black batwings and a horrible cackle. It dived at him, long, black talons brought to bear, but he dived out of the way with a cry, barely escaping uninjured. He was already bleeding and bruised. The demon abruptly turned to a giant mallet and swung around, nailing him in the face and sending him to the floor with a moan of pain.  
  
Gabriel looked murderous. "Imp..." he hissed. "He will die...how dare he hurt Jean..."  
  
Kneeling to one side of the throne was Gin, looking tired and annoyed. He was panting, apparently short of breath, and his  
  
Gene's expression softened and he sighed. "My poor baby..." he breathed.  
  
To the other side of it was a girl in chains wearing red with long, milk chocolate hair hanging down at her shoulders. A little kitten with stripes was sitting near her, looking sassy and ready to eat something. The sorcerer was holding the chains that ensnared her.  
  
Duo's eyes widened. "Heero...and Zero too...he..."  
  
"Hush now, it will be all right," Gene whispered. "Now that we're here, we can handle this. I have to get to Gin...but there is always the problem of my being under his control as well. If only I knew how to merge with him. The Alpha Jinn bows to no one, and the lamp is scarcely a hold. Once we are one again, we can be rid of the sorcerer."  
  
Duo sat perfectly still as Xhen-Phi yanked the chains holding Heero, revealing her breasts momentarily before she managed to get the vest closed again. "Aren't you amused, my dear?"  
  
Heero spat at him. "Drop dead, creep."  
  
Oh yeah, that was his prince all right!  
  
Xhen-Phi scowled and pulled the chains hard, making her hit the throne. It was all that Duo could do to keep from leaping at him. "You won't be so spunky once I break you in."  
  
Heero stared. "What are you--" Then, he stopped, and Duo realized it just as he did. "No...you can't! I...I won't let you do that to me!"  
  
"And what choice do you have, PRINCESS?"  
  
"Shit!" Duo hissed. "He's gonna rape him--err, her!"  
  
Gene grabbed his arm. "Relax...just stay still and watch."  
  
Duo did as instructed, though he didn't like it. Suddenly, Gin looked up and his eyes lit up green. Curious, he looked at Gene, whose eyes had lit up blue. They were communicating! //I hope this works...//  
  
Gin nodded without a word after a moment, then looked through the throne, his eyes reflecting off the surface of it. Heero stiffened momentarily, looking around, then looked toward the balcony. Her eyes hit them.  
  
Duo put a finger to his lips and shook his head. "No! Don't look here!"  
  
She quickly turned back to the spectacle that was ensuing before them. Din the imp had turned into a black panther and was now lurking dangerously close to Jean Claude's face, teeth glittering with drool.  
  
"Can I eat him, Master?"  
  
Gabriel shot out of their hiding spot, but Duo caught him around the waist and held him back. "Gabe! He'll die if you go out there, and so will you!"  
  
"But--!"  
  
The brunette brought the elf to his face. "Gabriel, do you love him?"  
  
Gabe blinked. "Uh..."  
  
"ANSWER me."  
  
He sighed, then nodded violently. "Yes! Gabriel loves Jean Claude! Can't let him get hurt!"  
  
Gene picked him up. "Gabriel, wait. He will be safe soon enough."  
  
"Can I? He's useless now, so can I, please?"  
  
Xhen-Phi paused, then shook his head. "No, he might still be of use. Who knows, I might find a use for him as a footstool. Leave him be."  
  
Din turned back to his normal guise. "Aww, but Master--"  
  
"Leave him BE, Din."  
  
He scowled, then paused and turned to the balcony in mid-air. The three spies ducked out of sight at that moment. "Hmm..."  
  
"You smell something, Din?" Xhen-Phi asked.  
  
The imp nodded. "I'll check."  
  
"Din can smell Gabriel," the elf said. "Imps and elves are enemies. We smell each other, and he will tell!"  
  
Gene looked at him, then smiled. "I have an idea...but you have to trust me and do as I say, Gabriel. If you love Jean Claude, you will agree without question."  
  
"Agreed."  
  
"Good. Brace yourself." Gabriel floated into the air and squinted his eyes closed. Gene rubbed his hands together, then blew gently over his palm, stirring up a little puff of glittery dust that floated out and encircled him. With a small poof, the eight-inch elf became a female fairy, complete with sparkling skin and hair, trim figure (which he already had) and gossamer wings. Gene grinned. "Oh yeah. Eat your heart out, Merrill Streep. I give you the dream-girl of any magic folk, elven and imp alike."  
  
Gabriel looked himself over, then posed. "I understand. You hide, *I* will handle DIN." He rubbed his hands together, sparking golden light. "Wants elven to fight, hmm.well, HE get elven all right."  
  
"Uh," Duo said, lamely. "I don't see how cross-dressing Gabriel has anything to do with anything.  
  
Gene guided the carpet under the terrace with a small gesture, then took Duo's arm. "All part of the plan, now hush and watch." He waved a hand and disappeared, and Duo felt a cold shiver run through his body. They were invisible.  
  
Gabriel quickly positioned himself near one of the poles of the railing, then waited as Din approached in his normal short form of cute little chibi. Duo watched as the imp flew out to see what was up, smirking.  
  
//Allah, if there was ever a time for popcorn...//  
  
Din flew out and looked around, then sniffed. "I smell an ELF...but I don't see one!"  
  
There was a tiny blue flash and Gabriel flew out to meet Din, surprising him. He smiled, seductively, at him. "HELLO there," he breathed.  
  
Din stared, his mouth falling open. "Whoa!" he zipped around Gabriel at lightning speed, looking at every curve with well-deserved appreciation. "DAMN! Where'd you come from, babe?"  
  
The drag-queen elf flew to him and fiddled daintily with his collar, then stroked a thin hand down his face, smiling. "I've...been around, and I could not pass up the opportunity to meet such an...attractive elven."  
  
Din jumped. Gabe was nailing him to the wall, and Gene had fixed his speaking problem! Din was imp, not elven, and he knew it. Duo knew what was coming, and he was right. Din quickly morphed into a more mature-looking form that didn't look so cartoony, making his wings disappear and putting himself in a black elf's uniform. "Aww, well..."  
  
Gabriel got amazingly close and kissed him, taking his attention completely away from his job.  
  
"That's my cue," Gene whispered. He floated up out into the open and waited for Gabe to let Din go, then raised a finger. He tapped Din, who twitched momentarily before turning his attention back to the 'fairy' before him.  
  
"Whoa..."  
  
Gabriel smirked, then brought his hands to bear, showing them to be glowing.  
  
Din jumped. "What the--?!"  
  
Gabe grabbed him and there was a flash, then Din morphed back into his cartoony self. He flung the light in his hands to Gene, who caught it and rubbed it into his own hands like lotion.  
  
Din looked amazed as he stared down at himself. "What did you do to me?!"  
  
Gene immediately shrunk and took another form, then flew up to Din and Gabriel, becoming visible. "Hello there," he said in Din's voice.  
  
Duo grinned. Genius!  
  
"Wha--?!"  
  
"Turn about is fair play. Gabriel?"  
  
Din looked at him. "GABRIEL?!"  
  
Gabe stripped off the outfit and grabbed him by his throat. "Payback is bitch, IMP."  
  
"You mean...I KISSED a GUY ELF?! YUCKO!" He spat. "EWW..." Then, he noticed Gene's condition. "Who're you?"  
  
"I'm Din," he said, stubbornly.  
  
"No, I'M Din!" he bawled.  
  
"Oh? Change into something."  
  
Din shut his eyes and grunted, but nothing happened. "WHAT?!" he squealed.  
  
Duo caught on. Gabriel could steal from people who were dishonest or cruel, and he had stolen Din's powers. This was great!  
  
Gene turned into a girl, then a sword, then Din again. "See? I'M Din."  
  
He pointed to Gabriel. "YOU!"  
  
Gabe smirked, then turned him to see Gene, who had morphed into a rubber mallet. "Say night-night!"  
  
Din swallowed. "Uh-oh."  
  
THUNK!  
  
Gabriel caught Din and Gene suspended him in magic rope to keep him from getting out, then looked down at Duo. "Be ready to get the lamp. Gabriel, guard that little thing."  
  
"GLADLY," he hissed, holding the thing by its hair.  
  
Duo guided the carpet carefully to the balcony again as Xhen-Phi barked out for Din.  
  
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD, GET *IN* HERE!"  
  
Gene zipped in. "Yessir," he said, quickly, saluting lamely.  
  
Heero looked confused and Gin looked plain shocked for a moment, but the latter of the two caught on and quickly turned submissive again.  
  
"Well?" Xhen-Phi spat, irritated. "Did you FIND anything?"  
  
"A rat...that's about it."  
  
Xhen-Phi growled, then zapped at Gene, who dodged it with a squeal. "Annoying little creature. Worthless."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
He scoffed, then turned his attention back to Heero, who was cringing away from the throne. He yanked her chains. "Are you ready to cooperate yet, princess?"  
  
She looked up at Duo and frowned at him, looking horrified and begging silently for help. He quickly gestured to her, trying to make her look away.  
  
Xhen-Phi looked toward the balcony, but Gene was quicker. He took Heero's natural form and stood before a mirror nearby, playing with his hair. The Asian man sighed. "Din, what are you doing, you infernal idiot?"  
  
He shrugged. "I sorta like this form. Can I keep it? I mean, he ain't using it anymore."  
  
"Do as you wish with it, but stay out of sight. If anyone sees the prince walking around after he's supposed to be dead, what will people think?"  
  
He paused. "Uh...probably something like 'hey, the prince is alive!' "  
  
Xhen-Phi zapped at him again. "YES! No KIDDING, moron! You want us to be killed?!"  
  
"Sorry, Master."  
  
Duo was impressed. Gene was one hell of an actor, and he impersonated that imp perfectly!  
  
Suddenly, Heero stood up and looked at Xhen-Phi, who looked ready to shoot her if she did anything wrong. "I give up," she sighed. "I...I'll be your queen and I'll cooperate..."  
  
"That's more like it!" the Chinese sorcerer snapped. He put a hand out and let his fingertips graze Heero's tight stomach, making her shudder. "I don't want to have to ruin this perfect body by brutalizing it, after all. Your cooperation is indeed desired."  
  
Duo took his chance. He floated up into the air on the carpet and up over the balcony railing into the throne-room, staying high in the dark corner of the chamber in order to avoid being noticed.  
  
As he carefully circled to swoop down and snatch the lamp, Gene took the form of Gabriel in a dress, or Gabriella the maid, and went to Jean Claude, who was still half unconscious. He kicked him in the ribs. "Wakie, wakie, Johnny-boy!" he hissed, cruelly. "Wake up and look at me!"  
  
Xhen-Phi ignored him, but it kept the presence of Din strong enough that there was no question of his authenticity as the real imp. He was too busy prodding at Heero to care.  
  
Duo slowly descended to the floor and disembarked from the rug, stepping soundlessly onto the slick floor. The lamp was perched on the arm of the chair, and if he got behind it and took it, Xhen-Phi wouldn't notice, because he was turned the other way. Of course, Gin was sitting there, but he didn't look ready to squawk to his captor. He stayed silent.  
  
Jean Claude awoke and looked up at Gene, who was impersonating Din impersonating Gabriel impersonating a woman. He sighed and let his head hit the floor. "Torture me no more, imp," he hissed. "You've hurt me far too greatly for me to care anymore. Hurt me, mangle me, tear me limb from limb, but I beg you, leave the image of my sweet Gabriella out of this horror. I wish to have something to cling to in my last moments of hell before I leave this place."  
  
Duo was pretty sure that Gabe was quickly becoming suicidal out on that ledge, hearing this from the person he had loved and deceived. He was sure that, had he not been so dead-set on getting that lamp, he might have felt the same way toward Heero, but he didn't have time to pity himself right now. He HAD to save the jinn, prince and servant before Xhen-Phi got too far. He carefully slipped behind the throne and knelt down, then scooted behind Gin and reached for the handle of the lamp. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite reach it from here. //Just...another...inch...//  
  
The white and black-stripped cat approached him. "Mew?"  
  
//No, Zero, no...// he tried to push him away, but it didn't work. The cute little cat crawled into his lap and snuggled into his bare stomach, tickling him. //NONONO...// He looked at Gin, who looked almost worried.  
  
The jinn picked the cat up and held him away from Duo, relieving him. He stroked Zero's back gently. //"Go for it, Duo,"// he heard Gin say in his mind.  
  
He nodded, then reached upward again, but a cry caught him off-guard.  
  
"MASTER! THE LAMP!"  
  
Din! He was out! //Oh sh--//  
  
Xhen-Phi snatched the lamp from his reach, throwing Heero aside like the slut that she looked like, then grabbed his staff and swung it around to aim it at him. "YOU! I thought I got rid of you..."  
  
Duo dodged out of the way as a bolt of red light shot at him, then tripped on something and hit the floor hard. Din flew over his head and into the room, landing on Xhen-Phi's shoulder.  
  
"MASTER! THE JINN! THERE ARE TWO OF THEM!"  
  
The Chinese sorcerer was out of the chair instantly, the crystal mounted atop the sphere bearing on Gene. "OH? Reveal yourself!" With a blast of red, Gene cried out and hit the floor in his true form.  
  
"Gene!" Gin cried, standing to go to him. Xhen-Phi ripped back on the chains and yanked them, ripping a scream from him. Still, he fought. "Gene, hang on!"  
  
"Stand DOWN, SLAVE," the sorcerer commanded, throwing him to the floor.  
  
"Stop."  
  
Xhen-Phi looked up at Gene. "What did you say?"  
  
"Stop hurting him," he hissed, climbing slowly to his feet. He lifted his hands and brought his right one to bear on the sorcerer. "Leave him alone."  
  
"And you'll do what to make me?"  
  
Gene's expression darkened further, if that were even possible, becoming a horrible snarl. "Strike him again and you'll find out."  
  
Xhen-Phi growled, then lifted the staff, the crystal mounted on top of it lighting up red. He rotated it once, then pointed at him, unleashing a bolt of red lightning at the small jinn.  
  
Gene snapped and threw his hand forward, launching a blue beam to counteract it, and both blasts met in the middle, locked in a stalemate.  
  
He could scarcely bear to watch as the two stood perfectly still, staining their blasts against each other. Duo was really sure that this was a good chance to get something useful done--but he couldn't figure out what it was. //Think, stupid! THINK! I have to help, somehow!//  
  
The standoff was broken in seconds, being that Gene was weak already, and alone with less than half his magic. The bolt of red electricity engulfed his beam and it broke through, hitting him and knocking him to the ground.  
  
"Ha, ha!" Din cackled. "He has no lamp, so he's useless! KILL him!"  
  
Gene lay sprawled on the floor, helpless despite his present situation, and no matter how Gin thrashed and fought, he couldn't get out of his neon restraints. Xhen-Phi lifted the staff high above his head to strike him, the crystal glowing red.  
  
"I think I will."  
  
Suddenly, Heero leapt onto his back, having gotten out of her restraints somehow. She grabbed at the staff and attempted to rip it from his hands, clawing the backs of them and kicking him. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"  
  
"Bitch!" Xhen-Phi hissed. He threw Heero off and pointed the staff at her, freezing her in place. "I'll contend with you later!"  
  
Gene managed to climb to his feet and was now standing before the sorcerer. "Bring it on, Chinaman. Bring it on and I'll show you the sheer power you're messing with." He was bluffing; he could barely keep his feet, let alone gather enough energy to repeat the display he had shown again.  
  
"You have nothing left, little one," the Asian spat, redirecting the staff on him. "And now, you will die."  
  
Duo wanted to do something, but he knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do. He stood perfectly still, his mind telling him to move but his body ignoring it. He couldn't help, and he hated that.  
  
A weak breathing caught his attention and he looked at Gin, who was on his knees wrapped in the purple chains of light, was shuddering and looking at the scene before him, muttering insanely to himself. "No...don't hurt him anymore, leave him alone...Gene...all my fault...no..." Suddenly, the chains lit up and disintegrated, leaving him freed. His eyes blazed red and he floated to his feet, only to bolt at light-speed to Gene just as Xhen- Phi fired at him. "GENE!"  
  
The blonde jinn gasped as the red bolt of energy struck Gin. The explosion of light was blinding, and the force of the blast so strong that the throne overturned and several of the guards shattered, while Duo found himself on the floor, completely sightless.  
  
When the light finally cleared, the chamber was mainly still dark, but two figures could be seen standing, while one was in a heap on the floor.  
  
Duo gasped as Gabriel appeared, looking horrified. "Oh no..." Duo whispered.  
  
Gabe stared. "Oh...Gin..."  
  
It was indeed Gin, and he looked to be all but dead. He was in a heap on the floor before Gene, still and not breathing (of course, jinn didn't really breathe, hopefully).  
  
Gene cried out in horror. "GIN!" he fell to the floor and gathered the taller being into his arms, cradling him like a child and panting. Streaks of silver rushed down his cheeks and he cried. "No! No, you idiot! You CAN'T leave me!"  
  
Xhen-Phi growled. "Aww, how sweet, but YOU just cost me my genie, you little bastard!" He lifted the staff again and aimed it at him, but Gene just stared up at it as if he wasn't really there.  
  
The blue-clad jinn hugged his lover to his chest, cradling his limp form, then lowered his head. "You killed him..."  
  
"And now you will join him." Xhen-Phi aimed at him.  
  
Duo's nervous system kicked back into life and his mind gave his body an instant order. He bolted across the disheveled chamber and skidded to a halt before the mourning entity and his love, catching the head of the staff and holding it away from them as it came down. "Fat chance!"  
  
"Let go!"  
  
"Bite me, ass-wipe!"  
  
The two of them fought for the staff as Gene pulled Gin back to a safer distance to take care of him, though it was apparent that if he wasn't dead he would be soon. Through the corner of his eye, Duo saw Din readying himself to interfere, but he was given no time to stop the little creature.  
  
Din's wings grew and talons shot from his hands. "I'm coming, Master!"  
  
"No you're NOT!" Gabriel tackled him and the two fairy creatures tumbled to the floor, where they wrestled, hands, feet, wings striking out at each other. The green-eyed fate elf pinned the imp down on his face, sitting on his stomach with his hands and wings against the floor.  
  
"Go ahead," Din spat. "KILL me. That will just make you as bad as me."  
  
Gabriel leered down at him, then slowly, he smirked. "No. Gabriel will not kill Din..."  
  
The imp stared. "The second you let me up I'll disembowel you, then your friend over there, so there." He stuck out his tongue.  
  
Gabe suddenly bobbed down and his mouth connected to that of the black-clad little demon creature. Duo mentally gawked, but he wasn't really given time to admire his friend, because he was still trying to get the staff.  
  
When the elf let go, the imp gawked. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"  
  
Gabriel smirked. "Gabriel will not kill Din. Gabriel will KISS Din." Then, he did it again, taking the imp's mouth violently and holding him down with his weight as he squirmed and thrashed, grunting and trying to get away to no avail.  
  
//Go GABE! Fight fire with an ATOM BOMB!// Duo grabbed the head of the staff with all his might and ripped it from Xhen-Phi's hands, then flipped it around like a baton and held it up high above his head. "Let's see how powerful you are WITHOUT your little glow-stick, magic man!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Duo brought the crystal down against the stone floor with a huge crash and it shattered, sending a blast of fiery, blinding light through the chamber. He tossed the ruined staff at the Chinese man, who looked horrified. "There you go. Have fun now."  
  
"WHY YOU LITTLE..."  
  
Suddenly, Zero became a full-sized tiger and pounced on Xhen-Phi, pinning him to the floor with his two-hundred-pound plus weight. "GRRRRRRRRRR..."  
  
"Damn it."  
  
Duo smirked, then turned his attention to the statue of the woman that HAD been his lover. The smirk faded and pity for himself and his ex-fiancé, who was now a woman and frozen by some spell. Sadly, he shook his head and put a hand against Heero's beautiful face, brushing her bangs back to look into her glazed eyes. "If you ever come out of this, you'll hate me, I'm sure," he muttered. "So I'll give you this now, to remember me by..." He kissed her cold lips tenderly, half-expecting the customary gasp of surprise and joy, but, of course, it didn't happen. He felt awful.  
  
Suddenly, a pair of thin yet large hands grasped his hips and pulled him close, forcing him to come into contact with the half-bare flesh of the woman his lover had become.  
  
His eyes flew open as he withdrew to look into the eyes of his prince...princess, actually. "Heero...?"  
  
She nodded. "Yes."  
  
"How?"  
  
"It's a fairy tale," she said. "A kiss always wakes the sleeping princess."  
  
"Oh yeah..."  
  
Zero jumped off Xhen-Phi's chest and nuzzled Heero's leg, making her blink.  
  
"Get back on him!"  
  
"Nah, leave him alone," Duo said flatly, looking at the Oriental sorcerer. "He's powerless, therefore he poses no threat. Just let him lay there for a while.  
  
A soft sobbing drew his attention to the corner to the other side of the throne, where Gene was cradling the limp body of his soul-mate. Gin hadn't shifted since he had so gallantly taken the hit for the blonde jinn in a final attempt to prove his love, and it was quickly becoming apparent that he would not recover.  
  
Heero grabbed Duo's arm. "Is he...?"  
  
He didn't answer. He quickly and quietly approached the couple with the former prince on his arm, and Gabriel, who had succeeded in scaring Din unconscious, followed. The mangled form of Jean Claude dragged up as well, silently. They all watched as Gene held Gin in his arms, sitting on the floor cross-legged and nurturing him while weeping.  
  
"Gin..." he whispered. "Gin, please, you CAN'T be gone...we are one, Gin, you HAVE to be alive...please..."  
  
Slowly, the stoic jinn's eyes fluttered open, revealing them to be glossed over like polished jade spheres, without pupils or animation. The corner of his mouth twitched up into a semblance of a half-smile and his hand came up, cupping Gene's cheek tenderly. "Gene..."  
  
He took the hand, trying to hold back his tears. "Oh Gin, eternity in a lamp isn't heaven, but it would be hell without you there with me! You can't die...I won't let you leave me all by myself!"  
  
Gin attempted to laugh, but it came out as a choke. "So selfish..." He smiled. "Suddenly so selfish...I love that about you...what happened to my altruistic angel, love?"  
  
"I have a right to be selfish!" Gene snapped, the tears once again streaming down his cheeks and staining them with silvery glitter. "It is YOU whom is always selfish! Everything always has to be your way, and if not, you throw a fit, and now you've reached the height of your greed. You're threatening to take the one person I have always treasured from me! If I didn't love you so much I'd hate you."  
  
He sighed. "I...couldn't stand to see you die that way...I have no meaning anymore..."  
  
"You do! You mean to ME! You mean more to me than anything, and besides, now I will die WITH you! We are LINKED you fool!"  
  
Then, he chuckled, surprising the rest of the crowd. "No...while..." he choked, then forced the rest out. "While Xhen-Phi held me prisoner, I broke our link...I k-knew I would die...and I wanted you to live...you are as free as a captured jinn can be, Gene..."  
  
Teal eyes flew open wide and Gene cried harder. "DAMN you, Gin! I don't WANT to live without YOU!"  
  
Gin's hand came up and wiped a tear from his eye. "There, now, my angel...please, be strong for me...after all, you can find some other jinn..."  
  
"YOU BASTARD!" Gene roared. "*NEVER* WILL I LOVE ANYONE BUT *YOU*!"  
  
The smile on Gin's face widened and he sighed. "Even now as I lay dying, you become stronger and braver, beloved, for though my body will fade away, my power and essence will be forever with you. Live, and be happy for be, love."  
  
"Gin, don't leave me!"  
  
Slowly, Gin's head fell back against the crook of Gene's arm and he sighed. "Do you love me?"  
  
"Yes! Of course! Please, don't do this! Hold on! For me! PLEASE! I LOVE YOU!"  
  
A sparkle of gold slowly trickled down Gin's cheek. "And I you, Little One. Farewell..." There was a slight flash and the green-clad jinn suddenly faded out, becoming clairvoyant, then colorless, then finally disappearing as if he had never been. All that remained of him was the silver stud- freckle, the sign of the jinn. It landed in Gene's open palm and shone, then it, too, disappeared.  
  
Everyone was silent as Gene floated to his feet, his eyes clamped closed and his arms wrapped around his thin frame. He passed over the rest of them and hovered before Xhen-Phi, his eyes completely void. "You took him from me," he whispered, looking at him.  
  
Xhen-Phi looked closely at him. "So he WASN'T the Alpha Jinn," he muttered. "I thought as much. My sources told me that it was nearby...but if he wasn't it..." Slowly, he lifted his eyes and looked at Gene, whose glazed eyes immediately came to life. "That means that YOU'RE--!"  
  
"You're wrong again," he hissed. "Now that Gin is dead the Alpha no longer exists! He WAS the Alpha Jinn, but so too am I. We were one, and now I am alone, and it is YOUR doing. If the jinn could kill, you would be on your way to Hell in a hand-basket, I swear it."  
  
Xhen-Phi stood up and dusted himself off, then looked at him. "But without your other half, you CANNOT. That makes you helpless, and MY servant."  
  
Duo grabbed the broken staff and spun it around, aiming the broken crystal side at him and wielding it like a spear. "You're wrong, Xhen. Without your staff or your imp, YOU'RE the helpless one, and versus Gene, Gabriel the elf, Jean Claude, the prince and myself, you are FAR outnumbered."  
  
"Ah, but the jinn cannot attack me, for I am his master, and it is within the code of the jinn not to injure their master."  
  
"You're not his master," Heero spat. "You don't have the lamp!"  
  
Duo jumped, then he and Xhen-Phi exchanged a surprised glance. They both looked across the obstacle course of the throne-room at the dented lamp, then at each other again. Whoever got their hands on it was Gene's master, and if Xhen-Phi got it, he would enslave him and kill the rest of them. "Oh crap."  
  
Xhen-Phi bolted for it, and Duo went off after him. It was a dash for the lamp. "DIN!"  
  
The imp awoke and immediately was airborne.  
  
Duo spotted him. "Gabriel! Stop him!"  
  
Gabe zipped after him and caught him by his little demon tail. "You try, I kiss you again!"  
  
Din stopped and turned to face Gabriel, who made a kissy face at him, teasingly. "Ohhh-no..." He went cross-eyed and fainted.  
  
Duo leapt over one of the fallen guards and dodged past a broken piece of ceiling, intent on the lamp, but Xhen-Phi was closer. //I'm not gonna make it!//  
  
Just as Xhen-Phi reached it, a white streak shot past and it disappeared. "WHAT?!"  
  
"Good boy, Zero!" Heero cheered. "Bring it here!"  
  
Xhen-Phi turned and snatched the staff from Duo's hands, surprising him, then threw it like a javelin at the retreating tiger.  
  
He scored with the crystal side, cutting him and marring his beautiful hide. He cried out and the lamp flew from his mouth into the air.  
  
Duo rushed to catch it, but the heavy severed arm of one of the stone guards caught his side, knocking the wind out of him. He tripped and hit the floor, looking up just in time to see the Asian man catch it. "Oh no..."  
  
Gene lowered his eyes as Xhen-Phi cackled.  
  
"SO! Victory is mine after all, street-rat!" He held up the lamp. "I now have the power that was rightfully mine, and I will use it to make the WORLD mine!"  
  
Suddenly, Gene looked up at him, his eyes glazed again. Slowly, a silver tear ran down his right cheek, crossing over the black zigzag markings. "You will use me as you used Gin."  
  
"Of course, foolish spirit!" Xhen-Phi spat. "What ELSE would I do?"  
  
Then, something odd happened. From his other eye, a golden tear trickled, making a straight stripe of yellow glitter down his left cheek, bisecting the markings on that side. "You monster," he whispered, his voice echoing strangely.  
  
The image of Gin's single golden tear passed through his mind and he suddenly had a very bad feeling. //United in pure passion and love...oh no...//  
  
Suddenly, Gene's eyes flickered and lit up red, and the floor began to shake. "YOU CROSSED THE *WRONG* JINN!"  
  
"Heero, Gabe, Jean Claude!" Duo shouted as they all stared. "Get away from him!"  
  
Heero skirted the soldiers and quickly rushed up, clutching his vest closed, Zero trailing him closely. "DUO! AM I MISSING SOMETHING?!"  
  
"EXPLAIN LATER, COME NOW!"  
  
Gabriel moved to fly after them, then paused and looked down at Din, laying helplessly on the floor unconscious.  
  
Duo knew what he was thinking; Din couldn't help what he was, or who he worked for, and it was wrong to leave him there to get caught in the cross- fire.  
  
Sure enough, he zipped down and grabbed the imp by his tail, then floated up and looked at Jean Claude, who was lying sprawled on his stomach closest to Gene. "Hurry! Jean, hurry!"  
  
He attempted to sit up, but his back gave out and he hit the floor with an "oof" and stayed still.  
  
Gabriel gasped, then floated down and grasped his index finger, shutting his eyes. They disappeared, only to reappear near Duo, Heero and Zero. Then, he fainted and fell out of the air.  
  
Duo caught him and tucked him in his vest pocket. Poor guy had expended his powers too far and overloaded, just to save an imp and a servant. "Gabe, you're one in a million!"  
  
Meanwhile, the rubble gathered on the floor near Gene began to fly into the air, orbiting him and quickly creating a twister. Seconds later, he lifted his hands and his palms lit up, and bluish-green smoke exploded all around him, engulfing him in a cloud of swirling color. The smoke was caught in the strong wind-tunnel that held the rubble in mid-air and spread through it, completely masking Gene from sight and creating a cerulean cyclone about him.  
  
"What's up now?!" Heero called over the noise.  
  
"Hell! That's what! Xhen-Phi pissed him off and now he's gonna go super- genie and kill us all!"  
  
Jean Claude attempted to sit up again and this time managed to prop himself up on his elbows. "But genies can't kill!"  
  
Duo swallowed hard, then ducked and pulled Heero's smaller body against his chest as the blue tornado suddenly began to spin in the other direction, spitting the rubble out across the chamber at nothing in particular and everything in general. "Not most of them, but the Alpha Jinn can!"  
  
Din suddenly woke and jumped out of the way, looking around. "Wha'd I miss?!"  
  
Jean Claude sighed, then snatched him from the floor. "I OWE you."  
  
"Not now!" Duo spat.  
  
Finally, the twister was broken by a blast of light and when it cleared, a giant entity formed of the smoke, growing so large that the entire roof of the dark palace came off as it stood upright. The night sky was overcast by black clouds and jags of red lightning crashed down inside the open chamber as it took the form of a huge man, monstrous and terrifying. Two huge red eyes peered out of the darkness that overcast it, and as the lightning outside crashed, it was illuminated. It was indeed the Alpha Jinn, and it-- HE--looked PISSED.  
  
The entity had no lower half, but merely a vaporous tail with an odd fluctuating color of jade and sapphire, yet the upper half was that of a very well-endowed man, with a chiseled chest, toned arms and skin the tone of dark copper. It had masses of wavy hair hanging down over its shoulders in plaits of shining bronze and a sheet of sloping bangs that spiked and curved under its strong chin. Its eyes slowly stopped glowing and became two separate ones, one jade and one cerulean and both narrowly locked on the sorcerer.  
  
"Okay, let me get this straight," Heero muttered. "Xhen-Phi tricked you into getting that lamp for him but he tried to kill you and you survived, sustaining your life and the lamp as well. You wished to look female so I would love you and the jinn protected you. Then, something happened, the jinn separated, Wufei got the lamp and kicked you out, you came back, the brunette jinn died and suddenly the blonde one is a superior being that can KILL and looks like both of them. Am I missing anything?"  
  
He sighed. "A lot, but I'll explain later. In a nutshell, Gin and Gene were at one time this being called the Alpha Jinn--namely HIM right there--but they were too dangerous so the higher jinn split them into two and hoped they'd never meet and merge again. They ended up meeting and fell in love, and they've been together for hundreds of years. They helped me, yes, because I freed them by rubbing the lamp, which your ADVISOR tricked me into getting for him and ended up losing out on. They've been helping me, but they got in a fight over something lame, which is why Xhen-Phi got one instead of two jinn. He kicked us out and we found out about the Alpha Jinn, which it turns out is both of them, as I've explained. Apparently Gene's anger and rage combined with the fact that they were already one thanks to Gin's death made the Alpha Jinn come back. He's all-powerful and he can mess with the fabric of space and time as we know it, and it's Xhen- Phi's fault that he's back."  
  
Jean Claude blinked and Din whistled. "Wow-wee! That's one hell of a complicated adventure!"  
  
"Yeah, someone could write a story about it."  
  
Heero narrowly leered at him. "That still doesn't warrant your lying to me, Duo."  
  
He sighed. "Can we argue later? The world MIGHT just be in danger. Our fighting can wait."  
  
"Who are you?" Xhen-Phi called.  
  
His voice was booming and frightening, but familiar. It was the voice Gin had used against Gene when he was angry, only SO much louder. "I AM THE ALPHA JINN, ALL-HIGH MASTER OF THIS REALITY AND THE NEXT, MOST POWERFUL BEING IN EXISTENCE."  
  
"Excellent!" Xhen-Phi held up the lamp and waved his staff, which immediately healed itself. "You are my slave." He spun it and pointed it to the Alpha Jinn, and a pair of shackles made from violet light encircled his wrists.  
  
He inspected them, looking at them with almost wry humor written on his face, then nodded. "YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND...*MASTER*."  
  
"Oh no," Duo whispered. "That guy got split into Gin and Gene because he was wrecking the world, and I don't think he's reformed..."  
  
Jean Claude sat up all the way and scooted out of view of the Alpha Jinn. "I don't fully understand this," he started, "But all I know is that thing is very dangerous. Is there anyway to stop it?"  
  
Duo shook his head. "No. It's so powerful that even the spirits that made it couldn't control it, which is why Gin and Gene were made and separated."  
  
Jean swallowed, then looked at Din, who looked worried. "That's bad..." Din peeped. "We're doomed."  
  
"MAKE YOUR WISH," the Alpha boomed.  
  
Xhen-Phi shook his head. "Demonstrate your powers, Alpha!"  
  
He nodded, then looked at the back wall of the palace. His eyes lit up, one blue, one green, and he flicked at the air.  
  
The entire wall blew out cleanly.  
  
"Excellent, but is that your best?"  
  
Alpha smirked, then pointed up at the sky. The clouds parted and the tip of his finger lit up, and suddenly, the clouds parted, making evident the beautiful night sky. He snapped and all the stars suddenly began to spin and rearrange, orbiting around each other and moving in the sky. He yawned, then clapped and they all went back into place. "CHILD'S PLAY."  
  
"YES!" Xhen-Phi exclaimed. He swung around and pointed to them, his hair messed and his eyes dark and shining with evil. He was now officially insane. "My first wish. I want them excruciatingly murdered, killed, DEAD! ALL of them except the girl. She's mine! And the one with the braid, I want him killed as slowly and painfully as inhumanly possible!"  
  
Duo gasped and hugged Heero to his chest protectively.  
  
"Duo..."  
  
"I'll protect you until I stop breathing, Heero, don't worry."  
  
Something moved against his leg and he looked down to see Gabriel slip out of his pocket and onto the floor. The little elf stood up and wobbled, then looked up. "We die now, huh?"  
  
Jean Claude gently scooped him up and looked at him closely, causing the elf to frown and look away, ashamed, then hugged him to his chest. "Yes, we die now."  
  
Din flew from the beaten servant's other hand and morphed, turning into a huge black shield. A little mouth sprouted. "Run or something, people! I'll hold it off!"  
  
Gabriel blinked. "You're helping?!"  
  
"Hey, you saved my skin, shit-head, so I owe you! Get the hell outta here!"  
  
"Don't bother, Din," Duo muttered. "Alpha would blow you to pieces in a millisecond. Don't waste your efforts."  
  
He morphed back and landed on Jean Claude's leg. Gabriel leered dangerously at him and his hands went up. "Not doin' anything. Cool it."  
  
The monstrous being looked at them and blew and the statues shielding them flew away like so many leaves. He looked at them for a moment, and while the others cowered behind him, Duo felt no fear. He continued to remind himself that this was Gin and Gene, his friends and allies. They wouldn't hurt anyone...  
  
But then again, the Alpha Jinn was spoken of like a whole other person, even by one half if it, namely Gene, and he looked pretty intent on fulfilling the wish.  
  
However...he didn't. He shook his head. "WISH REJECTED."  
  
Xhen-Phi stared. "What."  
  
"WISH REJECTED. I WILL NOT GRANT IT."  
  
"Damn it, you HAVE to! I'm your master!"  
  
The Alpha laughed. "*OH*? I SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THE RULES. OH WELL, THEY BIND ME NOT. ALL THAT BINDS ME IS THAT LITTLE ARTICLE THERE." He indicated the lamp.  
  
Xhen-Phi looked at it, then at him. "Yes, and I have it, which is exactly why you do as I tell you!"  
  
"I BOW TO NO ONE," he barked,  
  
"Oh?" Xhen-Phi grabbed a broke shard of the original crystal from his staff and ripped it down the side of the lamp with an awful 'SKREEEEEEEEEECH!'  
  
The Alpha shuddered and clasped his head, shuddering. So he DID have something controlling him after all! The Higher Jinn had wanted SOME sort of binding on him! "DESIST IN THAT!"  
  
The Asian stopped and smirked. "Grant my wish, SLAVE."  
  
"NO!"  
  
Alpha looked at Duo, who quickly covered his mouth.  
  
//Stupid,// he thought to himself. This was where Gin had gotten his bad attitude, and THAT had been formidable ENOUGH. Ah well, he'd started it, so he had to finish it. "Don't! Alpha Jinn, you DON'T want to kill us! We're innocent! The jinn don't kill the innocent!"  
  
Alpha raised a bronze eyebrow. "HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?"  
  
//Lucky guess,// he thought. Heh. No way he was saying THAT! "YOU told me!"  
  
"I DID NO SUCH THING."  
  
"You did! Gene did! He told me of the war between mortals and jinn, and how there was bloodshed and how you all felt so awful, and he said that your people only killed to protect themselves! We do you no harm, and yet you kill us?!"  
  
Heero grasped his arm. "Duo, what are you DOING?!" he whispered.  
  
"Keep with me, I'm workin' it!" He stood and pointed to Xhen-Phi. "HE is hurting you, Alpha, and we merely wish to help you! If anyone, kill HIM!"  
  
The Alpha turned his eerie separately-colored eyes turned on the sorcerer, who leered at Duo. He could see the gears turning in the entity's head. He'd struck a cord!  
  
"KILL HIM!" Xhen-Phi exclaimed. "I hold the lamp, you do as I say, Alpha!"  
  
The jinn was very obviously thinking, and Xhen-Phi was very obviously panicking. "HMMM..." Alpha intoned, absently.  
  
Suddenly, Jean Claude gasped and Heero did as well, but Din just let out a soft "whoa" from behind him. Duo watched as Gabriel suddenly appeared floating above the Asian, hands glowing. There was a dull flash, then the elf kicked him in the back of his head.  
  
Xhen-Phi gasped, then growled and looked at him. Gabriel pulled down his right eyelid and stuck out his tongue. "You..." he moved to go after the little green-eyed creature, but he tripped on a chunk of ceiling and fell, dropping the lamp and hitting the floor, face-down.  
  
"YES!"  
  
Gabriel made a dive for the lamp, but Xhen-Phi's staff came around in an arc and stopped him cold. The rag-garbed elf was struck by the crystal as it lit up and launched across the chamber into a pile of rubble.  
  
Duo's heart stopped. "GABRIEL!"  
  
The others stared as Duo rushed over to find his friend.  
  
He dug through the rubble, briefly reminded of when this had happened to a lesser degree in the Cave of Wonders. He stuck an arm into the large heap and felt around, holding his breath. //Please, please, please let him be okay...//  
  
His fingers grazed something small and soft. He closed them around it and withdrew his hand, only to find that Gabriel had been crushed. His little body was limp and not moving, and as he gently compressed the form, it gave, signifying that his ribcage had been smashed, and a small stream of red blood flowed freely down his forehead, which was dented. He didn't seem to be breathing.  
  
Duo's heart froze as he set Gabriel once again on the floor, then turned and lunged at the Asian man. "YOU KILLED HIM! I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"  
  
Xhen-Phi grabbed his staff and pointed it at Duo, and a bolt of pain shot through him as he found himself suspended helplessly in the air. "You are no match for me, boy. No match whatsoever. You should have stayed in that cave and died where I left you, because that would be a much kinder death than this will be. First I will kill your friends, and then, you will die, knowing that you lost and that your lover is mine. The hero has lost and the villain gets away with the girl, the money and ALL of the power." He smirked. "But hey, be happy. After all, you DID stand up to me throughout, and though you will die a horrendous death, you will die with pride knowing that you were killed by the most powerful genie, controlled by the most powerful man in the world."  
  
Suddenly, a little black streak caught his eye and Duo turned his head in time to see Din snatch the lamp from the floor. He smirked. "I think your imp went traitor on you."  
  
Xhen-Phi looked up at Din, who took the form of a man almost identical to Duo with giant bat wings. "You ungrateful little bastard."  
  
"Ya know, you talk WAY too much," he said, smirking. Then, he lifted a hand and it lengthened, thinning to a point and darkening into a huge blade. He swung it around and chopped the staff in half, which broke the spell and put Duo on the floor. "That was for Gabriel. Catch, Duo!" he tossed the lamp.  
  
"NO!"  
  
His hand came up and he hooked the handle on the tip of his finger, then held it up and backed away, scooping Gabriel into his pocket. "NOW who's got the power, ASSHOLE!" He looked up at the Alpha, who was actually smirking. He looked more like Gin than Gene that way. "ALPHA JINN! I'M YOUR NEW MASTER NOW AND I WANT *HIM* DEAD!"  
  
"NO, DUO!"  
  
He looked up as Heero ran up, grasping his shoulders. "Why not? He's a bastard! He was gonna kill me, he already nailed my best friend so bad I doubt he'll survive it and he was gonna rape you and make you his bitch. For Allah's sake, Heero, LET ME DO IT!"  
  
"Then what will you be, hmm? Just as low as he is. He's useless and helpless, so just leave him be. Cripple him if you like, or erase his memory, but don't be like that."  
  
That was a good point. "Alpha, I want this asshole gift-wrapped, if you don't mind."  
  
"YES, MASTER." the Alpha pointed to Xhen-Phi and he was immediately in a cage of fire.  
  
The Asian's mouth opened, but an apple appeared in it instantly. He took it out and tried again, but this time, it was an orange. At this rate he'd have a fruit salad in minutes, and it would be SILENT!  
  
He brought his little friend from his pocket, noting that he hadn't even shifted. "Now, I want EVERYTHING Xhen-Phi wished for reversed and I want Gabriel and Jean Claude healed."  
  
The large jinn waved his hands and the entire palace brightened, becoming whole again, excluding the roof, of course. The statues of the guards all rebuilt themselves and turned back to real live men. Heero grew a foot up and several inches out in all places, excluding his chest, which receded and firmed, making him once again male. Jean Claude's body healed completely, allowing him to finally climb to his feet and stand upright. Everything was as it should be.  
  
Except...for Gabriel. The little elf was still bleeding, and still not moving. There had been no change in him. Duo looked at him, then up at Heero, who looked sorry as Zero approached and nuzzled his leg. He looked at the Alpha. "But...you didn't finish the wish..." he held up his hand for the jinn to see, looking like a child. "He's not better yet...I asked you to heal him too..."  
  
The look on Alpha's face made his heart stop. It was one of regret. An evil creature could feel bad? He looked more like Gene now when he hadn't cared, and he lowered his eyes and shook his head with a sigh.  
  
Duo stared. "Alpha..."  
  
"THE DEAD CANNOT BE HEALED, MASTER. I APOLOGIZE. I COULD REPAIR THE SHELL, BUT THERE IS NO LONGER ANYTHING INSIDE."  
  
He slowly looked into his hand at the crushed figure. "No...Gabe, no..."  
  
Heero touched his shoulder as Jean Claude and Din approached, silently. The former of the two looked utterly stricken. "Duo...I'm sorry..."  
  
"NO!" he exclaimed, clutching the crushed little body as the tears streaked down his cheeks. "NONONO! IT CAN'T BE THIS WAY! HE CAN'T BE DEAD!"  
  
Din sniffled and shrunk down again to his normal state as a cute little chibi imp. "He was a good guy...for an elf..."  
  
Jean Claude just started to cry without saying anything. The tall young man fell to his knees and bawled like a baby. Din turned human-sized again and allowed him to weep on his shoulder.  
  
Duo looked at the tiny body again, legs and head lolling off either side lifelessly, and his heart ached. "Oh Gabriel..."  
  
Suddenly, Din's irises blared red from purple and he looked at Xhen-Phi in his cage, then shrunk down and flew through the bars. "YOU killed him, you asshole."  
  
"Oh, be useful and shut up," he spat.  
  
Din growled, then transformed into the giant rubber mallet again. "SAY NIGHT-NIGHT!"  
  
*THUMP!!!*  
  
Duo probably would have laughed had he not been so hurt. "DAMN IT!" he exclaimed, helplessly sinking to his knees. Gabriel was dead.  
  
****  
  
End of part four 


	5. Part Five

Jacked-Up Classics: Aladdin  
  
By Xandra  
  
****  
  
Heero knelt beside Duo and held his shoulders, sighing. "There is nothing that can be done...I'm so sorry..."  
  
"If I had never agreed to help that damn girl Gabriel and I would be fine, living in town...I hate myself."  
  
Suddenly, Alpha sighed and shrunk down to about ten foot from fifty and approached on two legs, arms folded across his wide chest. He knelt before Duo. "YOU STILL HAVE ONE WISH, MASTER."  
  
He didn't bother asking about Alpha's sudden need to follow the rules. He looked at the body in his hand. "What good is it...the jinn can't bring people back from the dead, and he's..." he trailed off and the tears began to pour down his cheeks again. It hurt too much to say.  
  
Then, Alpha sighed and his voice changed slightly, becoming a high tenor though it retained the odd echoing quality. "THAT is true," he said, his voice resembling Gin's.  
  
Duo sighed, ignoring the change. "Then I've just lost the best friend I've ever had."  
  
"Now THAT--that is not true."  
  
He looked up, then at Heero, Din and Jean Claude, all whom shared his expression. "What?" they asked.  
  
A smirk spread across Alpha's face. "As you said, the jinn cannot revive the dead and gone, but you must remember that I am no ordinary jinn. The Code of the Jinn does not bind my powers as it does those of the others, and therefore, his revival is very possible."  
  
Duo gasped. "YOU CAN REALLY BRING HIM BACK?!?!?!"  
  
The jinn nodded. "Yes, Master. All you have to do is wish that it is so. It must be formal in order to be a legitimate wish."  
  
He looked down at Gabriel in his palm, then up at the others, whom were watching expectantly. He shut his eyes and held up his hand. "Alpha, I wish for you to revive and heal Gabriel."  
  
He stood and bowed. "Your wish is my command, MASTER." His eyes lit up in their odd fashion and he snapped. The sound resounded throughout the silent chamber.  
  
Every eye remained locked on the palm of Duo's hand as a small flicker of yellow light floated down from above, settling on Gabriel's crushed chest and sinking through. Immediately, his collapsed ribcage rose and firmed, the blood on his forehead disappeared and the lacerations across his little body closed and healed over, leaving him untouched. Still, he didn't move.  
  
"You must understand," Alpha said, warily, "That though I can bring his spirit back from the grave, it is indeed up to him to decide if he stays. If he chooses that he would rather be dead, he might kill himself or worse. Not many spirits react well after being taken from nirvana and the other side, and some come back wrong. I can only hope that your friendship was enough to coax him back."  
  
Gabriel's little hand twitched, then his chest rose and his muscles tensed, surprising Duo. Ever so slowly, his eyelids rose, revealing a pair of green eyes, shining with confusion. He sat up on his elbows and looked around at the people gawking at him.  
  
Duo blinked. "Say something, Gabe!"  
  
He shrugged, then floated up out of his palm and dusted himself off. "Why everyone is staring at me that way?"  
  
The others all brightened and Duo grabbed the elf, hugging him to his chest. "YES! YOU DID IT, ALPHA!"  
  
He bowed his head. "Glad to be of service, Master."  
  
Gabriel choked. "Can't...breathe...Duo..." he disappeared, then reappeared out of his arm's reach. "Whew!"  
  
Duo quickly decided that hugging someone more sturdy would be a good idea, so he turned and tackled Heero, laughing happily. "YESYESYES!!!"  
  
Suddenly, the guards made themselves known, but Razul decided that it was his right as all-high ASSHOLE to make himself known first. "WHAT is going ON here?!"  
  
The others looked up at Alpha, who was staring coldly down at them, arms folded. Not one of the guards said a word.  
  
Heero stood and wrapped an arm around Duo. "You've just witnessed poetic justice, a miracle and an engagement. Feel privileged."  
  
He didn't say anything, but he looked somewhere between terrified and royally pissed.  
  
Gabriel looked down at Jean Claude from his space in the air, then sighed and looked away, very apparently ashamed. Slowly, he spoke. "Jean...I..." he looked at him. "I sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."  
  
The golden-haired young man sighed and put out his hand, allowing the elf to land in his palm. He looked at the eight-inch figure. "This is the real you, right?" he asked.  
  
Gabriel nodded. "This is me." He sighed. "Look...I never wanted to--"  
  
Jean Claude cut him off by setting a finger to his lips. "Hush. It's all right...no hard feelings..."  
  
"No! Not what I meant!" the green-eyed fairy man exclaimed, waving his hands in demurral. He sighed, then touched the tip of Jean Claude's finger, holding it in his hand. "I..." he closed his eyes. "I love you. There, I say it. You hate me now?"  
  
The young man smiled, weakly. "No, no I don't. I couldn't hate you even if I wanted to. I mean, I loved you as a woman, and as a man I can love you too, but...well, you ARE a bit..."  
  
Gabriel gave him a wry look and raised an eyebrow. "Short."  
  
He blushed. "Um, yes."  
  
"Easily rectified," Alpha said.  
  
"No," Gabriel sighed. "I don't want to be what I not be. Gabriel is an elf, and I fine with that. Jean Claude, I sorry."  
  
He sighed. "That's fine..."  
  
Duo looked at the large jinn, who looked pretty bored suddenly. "Are Gin and Gene still in there somewhere?" he asked, absently.  
  
He nodded, then his voice changed, splitting into two different voices. "We're here."  
  
He smiled. "Then I have another wish."  
  
"Ask and it will be done."  
  
"I wish for Gin and Gene."  
  
Alpha blinked, then bowed his head and raised both hands. He snapped and the air began to spin and turn once again, and blue and green smoke quickly filled it, creating the twister around the large entity. Then, with a flash it was gone and standing where the Alpha Jinn had been, back to back and panting, were Gin and Gene, the former fully intact and breathing heavily.  
  
Duo cheered. "YES!" He quickly rushed up to them. "Welcome back, guys!"  
  
Gene stood upright and rubbed his eyes, then turned and looked at Gin, who had turned his direction at the exact same second. His eyes widened and his pupils disappeared. "GIN!"  
  
"Gene."  
  
The blonde leapt into his love's arms and hugged him tightly around the neck, crushing his face into his bare chest. "Oh, Allah, I missed you!" he cried, happily.  
  
"And I you, my beloved."  
  
Duo smiled. "I was worried about you two for a while...I mean, I thought the Alpha Jinn was gonna blow us all away."  
  
The jinn exchanged glances. "We were somewhat in control of it, so that wasn't possible," Gin said.  
  
The brunette sighed and smacked a hand to his forehead, then nodded. "Okay, I'll keep my mouth shut."  
  
"Um..." Jean Claude said, raising a hand. "Could I ask a favor of the gentlemen?"  
  
Gene smiled. "Of course. What is it?"  
  
He sighed, then looked at Gabriel, who sat cross-legged in his palm. "We want to be together, but I am afraid that is impossible, being that he is eight inches tall and I am over six FEET tall. I know it is a lot to ask, being that the wishes you grant are not mine, but...could you possibly find a way for us to be together?"  
  
Gene and Gin exchanged glances, then both nodded and grasped hands. "Gabriel," Gin said, "I suggest you get out of his hand."  
  
The elf blinked, then quickly floated up into the air and away from Jean Claude, who stared. "What you gonna do?" Gabriel asked.  
  
The jinn nodded, then snapped in unison. There was a flash and all eyes remained on the green-eyed elf as the light cleared, but nothing had happened. Yet, somehow, something was different...  
  
"HEY!"  
  
They all looked at the floor and Duo cracked a grin. Jean Claude was an elf!  
  
Wait...elves didn't have wings. That meant that he wasn't an elf...he was a fairy!  
  
"Oh, wow," Heero muttered, staring down at him. "That's pretty interesting..."  
  
The blonde male fairy looked down and quickly cupped his unmentionables to hide them from sight, blushing. "I'm TINY!" he squeaked.  
  
Gabriel stared, then zipped down and floated in front of him, inspecting him. "Fairy? Why fairy, Gin?"  
  
He shrugged. "Normal elves don't fly--you're special that way--and we figured that in order for him to keep up with you he would have to be able to fly too, so that was the best answer."  
  
"Do I HAVE to be naked?" he asked, flatly.  
  
Gin and Gene exchanged glances. "Fairies don't believe in clothing."  
  
He scowled. "Well, at least I can even out my tan this way."  
  
Gabriel smirked, then hugged him, surprising him. "I like this. Now you're MY size."  
  
Jean Claude just blushed.  
  
Duo smiled, then looked up at Heero, who was staring sadly down at him. He sighed and took his hands, looking down. "Are you still angry with me for tricking you?"  
  
He shook his head. "No, but I'm still trying to figure out why you did it."  
  
"WHY? Because I knew you'd never love me this way and that it would never be accepted!"  
  
Heero looked down at him, bringing their faces so close together that their foreheads touched. "Duo, I already loved you, and I do still. You didn't have to pretend to get me to love you...you just had to say the word and I was ready to drop my crown to be with you..."  
  
"Really? As a commoner with no money?"  
  
He nodded. "Yes. Duo, please understand that I loved you as Duo already, and you didn't have to become Dyad to make me love you. You're already all that I could ever wish for..."  
  
The braided boy almost smiled, but then he remembered what had kept him from advancing any closer to the prince. He frowned. "But we can't be together...I'm male and so are you...and we can't have a baby to keep the royal family going."  
  
Heero grasped his chin and gently kissed his pouty lips, then smiled. "That doesn't matter to me. I love you still."  
  
Suddenly, Gin and Gene snickered at each other and the others looked at them.  
  
"And just WHAT is amusing about this?" Duo snapped.  
  
Gene smiled and looked at him, then at Heero, then up at Gin. "Should we tell?"  
  
"Be my guest, darling."  
  
"Well," he said, "You may not be capable of birthing or creating a child, but we certainly are."  
  
"Indeed," Gin added. "You see, while we can take life and restore it again, we can also create it. All we would need would be someone viable to carry the child without pain or inconvenience."  
  
Gabriel immediately pointed to Din, who stared at him. "HE can be a woman! I seen him do it! He changes shape, HE can carry a baby."  
  
"Wha, ME? No way! I am not gonna be a Mommy to no palace brat!" Din paused as Duo and Heero looked at him, sadly, then Gin and Gene smirked at him. He sighed, then smacked a hand to his forehead. "Geez...I hate being nice...okay, fine, but if I feel ONE ounce of pain, there WILL be Hell to pay."  
  
Duo grinned. "God, I could kiss you."  
  
"Your elf did it already and I didn't enjoy it," Din exclaimed, raising his little hands, "so please refrain from doing so!"  
  
"Din, take the form of Dyad," Gin commanded.  
  
He sighed, then flickered, becoming Duo in a red dress and make-up, looking grouchy. He looked at Duo, who blinked, then back at the jinn. "Well?"  
  
Gin approached Heero and Gene went to Duo and both made contact with them, the blonde touching the braided boy's heart and the green-eyed entity touching the prince's head. Both drew their hands away carrying a light spark, one violet and one red. They brought their hands together, uniting the sparks into one, then set it to Din's stomach and let it sink in. Then, the jinn grasped hands and pointed to him, then snapped.  
  
There was a small flash and Din went cross-eyed. "Oh, THAT felt wrong."  
  
"In nine months the two of you will have a beautiful baby girl," Gene informed them, smiling openly. "Now all Duo has to do is stay in female attire while out in public and no one will know the prince married a man, because you will have a child."  
  
Duo and Heero exchanged glances, then hugged. "Cool! No more problems!"  
  
"No, wait," the prince said, flatly. "My father..."  
  
"Where IS he anyway?"  
  
Suddenly, the doors of the throne room opened and in walked the sultan, dressed in a very LOUD shirt and shorts. "Back from Hawaii, children!" the old man said. Then, he paused. "Nice job, Jasper, the palace looks wonderful, as I knew it would. Ah, I see you have a guest." He indicated Duo.  
  
Heero looked at him, then over at Din, who looked like "Dyad", then blinked. "Uh...yes, this is...um..."  
  
"Dyad's brother," Duo finished for him, grabbing Din's dainty arm and pulling him forward. "I came to see my sister along and to attend the wedding, and then I'll be sticking around until the baby is born, then I'll report back to my folks in Siberiarabegypt to tell them that there's no problems."  
  
"Baby?" the sultan asked, blinking. He looked at Jasper and smirked. "You've been BUSY, I see!"  
  
Heero blushed. "Um, not as of yet, but Duo will be here for a while until Dyad is pregnant, and that may very well take a while."  
  
"Ah, well I see." The old man looked at Xhen-Phi, who was unconscious in his cage, then smiled. "What happened to him?"  
  
"Oh, he works too hard," Duo said. "I think he deserves a break. Anyway, I don't think Jasper needs an advisor. He's smart enough on his own."  
  
"Thank you, Duo."  
  
Razul looked tempted to spill the beans, but he didn't. Instead, he scowled and folded his arms silently.  
  
The sultan shrugged. "Forget the formalities. As of now, Jasper, you are sultan and the kingdom is yours. Marry Dyad when it pleases you. I personally have a suite in Bangladesh and a cute little number from Arabia waiting for me! Later, son!" With that, the odd old man was gone.  
  
Heero and Duo exchanged glances, then smirked at each other and hugged. "Finally, we can be together..."  
  
"Yes...my prince..." Duo then paused and looked up at the jinn, who looked satisfied but unhappy. Gene was hugging Gin around the waist and nuzzling his bare chest as they stood together nearby, and Gin was looking at Duo with void eyes. The look on his face reminded the braided boy of his own revelation of long ago. Immortality without sensation, without freedom, was really eternal hell. He couldn't just leave them that way, but if he wished them free, they would still be dead to the touch and probably miserable. Yet, if he wished them mortal neither would have powers. So confusing this kind thing was!  
  
"Any more wishes, Master?" Gin asked. "Now that we are the Alpha Jinn, we know that we can give you infinite wishes, and for your loyalty to us, we have decided to."  
  
He shook his head. "Not right now, thanks..."  
  
Gene suddenly gasped and looked back at the lamp, then up at Gin, who smiled down at him, weakly. He sighed. "No choice...but I'll miss touching you..." he ran a gentle hand over his lover's cheek, receiving a soft chuckle in response and a tender kiss. The blonde didn't object.  
  
Then, it came to him. "Wait a second!" Duo exclaimed, making both jinn pause.  
  
"Have you a wish?"  
  
"Yes! Yes, Gene, I do." He looked up at Heero, then smirked at them. "It's a whopper though so hang onto your pants."  
  
While Gene quickly whispered to Gin about why they should hang on to their pants, Heero pulled the brunette aside. "What more could you wish for, Duo? You are now with me, and rich, and soon to be my one and only. What more could there be?"  
  
"I have a debt to repay, so hush." He cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "All right, you ready?"  
  
Gin nodded. "Yes. We're ready."  
  
"I wish..." he paused, smirking. " I wish you both free and mortal excluding your powers, which you can keep and use as you wish."  
  
They both stared at him silently. "Did he just wish what I think he wished...?" Gene asked, softly.  
  
Gin's stern face suddenly broke into a wide grin. "Yes, he did!"  
  
Heero grasped Duo's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "Brilliant."  
  
"Thank you." He held up the lamp. "My wish is your command--for the last time."  
  
The jinn exchanged glances, then involuntarily grasped hands and shut their eyes. There was a huge blast of light so strong that it almost brought the palace down.  
  
Duo felt the lamp disappear from his hands and he immediately hugged Heero to keep his balance as the blast finally cleared. He opened his eyes and grinned.  
  
It was Gin and Gene all right, in what had probably been normal clothes at one time and were now rags. Gin was dressed in Indian buckskin leggings and a thrashed leather vest from some strange culture and Gene was wearing rags much like Duo's own, but more weathered and probably from somewhere in Asia. Both were staring at each other in disbelief, their faces unbranded by either mark of the jinn, the black zigzags or the silver freckle. They were mortal, and they looked SO beyond happy.  
  
Duo laughed as Gene tackled Gin to the floor, giggling like a child and surprising his lover, who went cross-eyed as they landed.  
  
"Oh wow," he muttered. "I'm going to like this mortal thing."  
  
"How's it feel?" the braided boy asked, snidely.  
  
Gin grinned. "You really wanna know?"  
  
"Nah, I think I'll pass."  
  
Gabriel had been busy this entire time trying to teach Jean Claude how to fly with little success but a lot of merriment on his part. He couldn't stop laughing, and he looked more than happy. Now everyone was happy!  
  
Well, almost everyone.  
  
Din rolled his eyes. "Bleck."  
  
Duo sighed. "Tell you what, Din. You have my baby for me and I'll try to persuade the jinn into sending you back to wherever you came from to find a girl imp, okay?"  
  
He brightened slightly. "Oh...fine."  
  
Duo glanced back at the two ex-jinn and quickly diverted his gaze again, smirking. They were making out, Gene up against the wall and propped up in a compromising position. "Geez, guys! You HAVE a bedroom!"  
  
Gin paused and looked back at him, a sly smirk crossing his lips. "Hmm..." he looked at Gene, who blinked, then whispered to him.  
  
Gene turned seven shades of red. "GIN!"  
  
"What? Now that we can actually feel, don't you think it would be fun?"  
  
Then, Gene got that look on his face too. "It was fun already...I wonder..."  
  
"So do I. Let's go see." Gin set his lover down, then took his arm and zipped out of the throne room. Then, he paused and peeked back in. "Excuse us, but I think now would be a good time to take advantage of this new gift."  
  
"Go right ahead," Duo laughed.  
  
Heero blinked. "What are they going to do?"  
  
Gin grinned. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna go fuck myself."  
  
Duo and Heero exchanged glances, but Din voiced their thoughts. "I don't get it."  
  
He shrugged. "Joke from the nineties. You wouldn't get it yet. LATER!" He turned and zipped from sight, but Gene remained with a dumb look on his face.  
  
Then, the blonde laughed. "HEY! I get it! Since we're one person, you're gonna--that's FUNNY! Oh, wait..." Then, he got snatched up and both were gone.  
  
Duo and Heero smiled, then hugged. "Well, it looks like it's happily ever after for us, eh?"  
  
"Yes, but there's still one more loose end to tie up...or should I say three..." Duo looked at Razul and Cassíme, who were leering at him. Both looked ready to chop him to pieces, prince or no prince. "Din, can you still turn into that mallet?"  
  
He shook his head. "Might hurt the baby if I do...however," he lifted a hand and it immediately turned to a giant black hammer. "I can still do this."  
  
Heero looked at the guards. "Both of you kneel before me."  
  
They exchanged glances, then sulkily dragged up and knelt at Heero and Duo's feet.  
  
"Din?"  
  
"SAY NIGHT-NIGHT!"  
  
THUMP! THUMP!  
  
****  
  
"Oh LADIES!"  
  
The three women looked up from their laundry and gossiping then grinned. "Duo!" Miss Noin exclaimed. "You're alive!"  
  
He smirked. "Of course I am," he said.  
  
"After you didn't come rushing past in the morning we got worried about you," Miss Une said, "And after we didn't see you or Gabriel we feared that maybe you had been caught."  
  
"Oh, you could say that."  
  
Miss Poe smiled. "HEY! Look at you! Nice duds, who'd you steal them from?"  
  
He looked down at his royal violet uniform and laughed. "Oh, no more stealing for me," he said, shaking his head. "I got them free. I'm getting married, you know."  
  
"OH!" they exclaimed.  
  
"Yup. You wanna meet him?"  
  
They exchanged glances, smirking. "HIM?"  
  
"Yup," he repeated. He reached around the corner and pulled Heero forward, then hugged him. "Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to my fiancé. This is Prince Jasper, but I call him Heero. Heero, this is Lucretzia Noin, Sally Poe and Anna Une [1]--they've been like my mothers ever since I was little, always looking out for me."  
  
The ladies all bowed. "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Nice picking, Duo."  
  
"Always said the boy had a good eye."  
  
Heero smiled. "These are the ladies you mention, I gather?"  
  
"Yes, these would be my Moms."  
  
Heero nodded. "Very well. Ladies, if you will accept, we have gifts for you." He whistled over his shoulder.  
  
Three guards stepped into sight, each carting a man in chains with a dumb look on his face, formerly known as Xhen-Phi, Razul and Cassíme. Now they didn't know WHO they were for real, but Duo had taken the liberty of reprogramming them.  
  
The ladies exchanged glances. "Hmm," Miss Une said, smiling. "What have we here, Duo?"  
  
He smirked. "May I present to you the gifts I promised you so long ago. I always said I'd repay you for helping me, and now I will. Turn them loose, guys."  
  
The jailers unchained their prisoners and shoved them forward into each other without a real reaction. They all looked REALLY stupid.  
  
Duo nodded. "Pick your man, girls. I believe you know two of the three, but not as well as you will. I did a little brainwashing."  
  
Miss Noin approached Razul. "Hi there. I don't believe I caught your name."  
  
He blinked. "Zechs...I think..."  
  
"Married?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She frowned at Duo, who shook his head. "Keep talking to him!"  
  
"Who are you married to?"  
  
He scratched his head, then looked at the scribing on his hand. "Um...Lucretzia Noin?"  
  
She beamed. "I love you, Duo."  
  
He bowed, smirking. "Thanks so much."  
  
Miss Une smirked too, then grabbed Cassíme by his collar. "And who might you be?"  
  
"Um...Treize, ma'am..." he said, lamely.  
  
"I like him," she said. "He doesn't talk much."  
  
"He won't talk unless you talk to him first," Duo said. "I made sure of that. I was SO sick of his constant babbling."  
  
Miss Poe was next. She inspected Xhen-Phi. "Your name is...?"  
  
"Wufei," he said, flatly. He folded his arms, weakly. "I'm bored. Give me something to do."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "How about you fold my laundry?"  
  
" 'Kay."  
  
"Oh yes, HE will do."  
  
Duo suffered himself to be hugged by the three women. "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome! I had to get rid of them anyway." He cleared his throat. "You're all invited to the wedding, and be sure to bring your new trophies of my wrath."  
  
They nodded, then Miss Noin grabbed Razul by his masses of hair and dragged him away. "Later, ladies. I wanna see if the captain of the guard is up to par."  
  
Razul blinked. "Who's the captain of the guard?"  
  
Meanwhile, Xhen-Phi was folding Miss Poe's laundry without a complaint. He looked pretty bored, but the look on her face made it obvious that she would be keeping him VERY busy. "Nothing like a good slave!" she laughed.  
  
Miss Une looked at Cassíme. "I hope you taught him how to use a broom."  
  
"Oh, yes. He's no longer the king in battle, but no dust-bunny can stand up to him!"  
  
She grabbed him by his ear. "Come with me, boy."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Duo looked at Heero, who was smirking. "I have to hand it to you," the prince said. "You ARE something."  
  
He beamed. "Of course I am. You should be proud!"  
  
Heero's large, sexy hands grasped his hips and his lips took Duo's own in a passionate kiss. When it broke, Duo was panting. "I am. Come on, let's go take a cue from the jinn. God knows, they've been inseparable in more than one way for the last day or so."  
  
Duo grinned. "I like that idea." He paused, smirking. //I wonder who will make more noise...probably Gin and Gene. God knows, they have centuries of practice on Heero and I, and now that they can feel, they shake the damn palace!//  
  
**** ~  
  
Gin and Gene were both panting wildly when they finally stopped, Gin more profoundly. He fell back on the bed. "Okay...I think...I threw my back out," he gasped.  
  
"I'm...sorry..." Gene panted. He nuzzled his slick chest, tiredly. "Whew...that was too much..."  
  
"No way!"  
  
"True...can't get enough of you...who knew...you could do all that?!  
  
"I...did...!"  
  
"And you never let me know?!"  
  
"I TRIED!"  
  
Gene sighed relaxing. "Never mind...it's okay..."  
  
"So...what do we do now...?"  
  
Suddenly, Gene smirked and snapped his fingers, and a book appearing in his hands. He set it on Gin's chest. "Read this, I'll be back in a minute." He dropped beneath the covers.  
  
Curiously, Gin flipped open the front cover and inspected it.  
  
"Page forty-two," Gene said from somewhere near his stomach. "Read it."  
  
He shrugged, then flipped to the indicated page and cleared his throat. "This type of stimulation goes well back to the natives of South Asia, technically called fellatio. The act is known better by the future American race as a b-" he choked as a mind-blowing sensation rocked his senses. "Oh holy Allah, what are you DOING?!"  
  
Gene peeked up at him and smirked, then disappeared again.  
  
Gin paused, then gasped, shut his eyes and fisted the sheets. "Oh yeah," he muttered. "Mortality has advantages."  
  
****  
  
The End  
  
[1] I don't know Lady Une's first name (if she even has one) so I made one up for the occasion. Sorry!  
  
Xandra: Like my ending? I'm evil, I know. ^_^ Hope you enjoyed it, and please, review! 


End file.
